The Rise of Petrol Prices In the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Rise of Petrol Prices In the UK - Essay Example More so, the rising petrol prices mostly affects the consumers and motorists hence the need for a review. We can however, deduce that the government has an ability to regulate the escalating petroleum prices. The Guardian records that Yorkshire, Humberside, and north England experience the lowest petrol prices at 137.6p a litre. However, in cities like London and Scotland, prices have hit an all-time high of 137.8p a litre (The Guardian, 2013, p.1). This is interesting as it demonstrates the variance in pricing of petrol across various cities. As such, we can deduce that price of petrol in UK varies from one city to another. Moreover, the motoring organization established that petrol prices in UK rose to an average of 138.32p a litre in February this year. This demonstrates a rise of 6.24p a litre since early January. Most specifically, petro prices rose by 1p in a span of five days. Actually, Experian Catalist puts the recent petrol price at an average of 132.83 pence a litre. As a result, the cost of fuelling a two-car family in a month with petrol rose to ?13.25 and the cost of refilling a typical 50-litre tank rose to ?3.12.Indeed, the AA president, Edmund King states that this is the third 10p-a-litre wholesale price increase in a span of11 months (The Guardian, 2013, p.1). As a result, the drivers in UK reduced petroleum consumption by 14m to1.465bn liters in January 2013. This is important in that it demonstrates that the effects of high petro prices streams down from the wholesaler to the motorists and the public. We can therefore deduce that increase in petrol prices has adverse effects on the motorists and results to reduced fuel consumption. The AA states that stock market speculators and the plunging pound are the major contributors to the... This paper approves that the AA states that stock market speculators and the plunging pound are the major contributors to the rising petrol prices in UK. Notable is the fact that rising petrol prices lead to reduced economic growth and economic hardship for many UK citizens. Because of this the AA president requests the UK government to shelve the idea of increasing the fuel duty later in the year for purposes of stabilizing petrol prices and reducing the effects on motorists, mother consumers, and businesses in UK. This is interesting as it demonstrates the effects of tax and duty on the prices of petrol in UK. We can therefore deduce that the government can regulate fuel prices through taxes and duties. Moreover, the Office of Fair Trading confirms that it will soon launch an inquiry into the rising petrol prices and its effects on drivers, consumers, and businesses in UK. In the meantime, the price of petrol continues to rise as the blame game on who is causing this trend persists . This report makes a conclusion that the analysis of the statistics relating to rising fuel prices is important in that it monitors fuel prices in UK for possible reviews and compares the price of fuel in UK to other EU countries. More so, this information is important to students, academicians, and the public as it evaluates the recent and historic petrol price changes thus preparing them for possible changes. In addition, government departments, business consultants, and organizations also use this data for planning. Moreover, the EU uses this information to derive EU price statistics.