Ukraine crisis bites as fuel prices soar in West Lothian

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The effects of the crisis in Ukraine has reached West Lothian’s garage forecourts as prices reach record levels.At petrol stations around West Lothian, diesel was hitting 199.9p a litre this week, with others not far behind at 182.9p per litre.Some filling stations - including Shell at Broxburn - are selling petrol at as much as 176.9p per litre - and it’s expected to go up even further.

Customers accused companies of “profiteering” with one saying it was time to “legislate against profiteering on petrol station forecourts.

My local garage is charging up to 30p more per litre than garages five or 10 miles away.” A year ago the price per litre of petrol and diesel was 124.32p and 127.25p respectively.

The war in Ukraine has had a massive impact on crude oil prices, and these are set to soar further as the crisis continues.The average price of petrol across the UK has jumped by more than 4p in a week topping £1.55 for the first time ever, which means a gallon costs over £7 – something which many older drivers will be struggling to comprehend.A spokesperson for Shell told Edinburgh Live although the garage is branded as Shell, the company do not own or set the prices at this station.They continued: "Shell is only able to control prices at the sites we own; of our UK network around one half is owned by independent dealers, who set their own prices.