Petrol Prices
Since March 1983 I have kept a detailed record of fuel prices and fuel consumption, spanning fourteen different cars, both privately-owned and company. This table records the movement in fuel prices over that period, taking in each year the first fuel purchase in March. Prices are for leaded 4-star up to 1988, and unleaded thereafter. This roughly corresponds to the point when unleaded took over from 4-star as the standard fuel.
The table shows that the price of fuel in real terms is now 10% higher in March 2008 than in 1983. This is only the fifth year that the inflation-adjusted price has been higher than that in 1983. However, this disguises the fact that "real" fuel prices fell between 1983 and 1992, encouraging a boom in road traffic, but then rose sharply due to the "fuel duty escalator", resulting in the fuel protest of 2000. At this time, fuel prices had risen by over 50% in five years, which undoubtedly caused much hardship.
The table also does not show peak prices in my local area, which were 224.6p/gallon (49.4p/litre) in October 1990, following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, and 390.5p/gallon (85.9p/litre) in June 2000, just before the fuel protest. Around this time I even paid 404.1p/gallon (88.9p/litre) in the Scottish Highlands. It seems that peak prices tend to occur in the autumn, and March, just as winter demand is tailing off, is often a low point in the year.
In 2005 there was a marked rise in the international price of oil, leading to a peak price of 426.9p/gallon (93.9p/litre) in September and October. Also since the beginning of March 2008 there has been a further rise, with my most recent fill-up in mid-April being at a record 486.0p/gallon (106.9p/litre).
Of the March 2008 price of 103.9p/litre, 65.9p or 63.4% goes to the government (50.35p fuel duty and 15.5p VAT).
For information about current fuel prices in your local area, take a look at PetrolPrices.com.
Petrol Prices 1983-2008 Year Price per Litre (p) Price per Gallon (£) Retail
Prices
IndexPetrol Price
in constant terms
(1983=100)5-year
% increase
¶1983 36.7 1.670 83.1 100.0 - 1984 38.7 1.759 87.5 100.0 - 1985 42.8 1.946 92.8 104.3 - 1986 38.2 1.737 96.7 89.4 - 1987 37.8 1.719 100.6 85.0 - 1988 34.7 1.578 104.1 75.4 -5.5 1989 38.4 1.746 112.3 77.4 -0.7 1990 40.2 1.828 121.4 74.9 -6.1 1991 39.5 1.796 131.4 68.0 3.4 1992 40.3 1.832 136.7 66.7 6.6 1993 45.9 2.087 139.3 74.6 32.3 1994 48.9 2.223 133.1 77.6 27.3 1995 50.9 2.314 147.5 78.1 26.6 1996 52.9 2.405 151.5 79.0 33.9 1997 57.9 2.632 155.4 84.3 43.7 1998 60.9 2.769 160.8 85.7 32.7 1999 61.9 2.814 164.1 85.3 26.6 2000 76.9 3.496 168.4 103.3 51.1 2001 77.9 3.541 173.1 101.8 47.2 2002 69.9 3.178 174.5 90.6 20.7 2003 77.9 3.541 179.9 98.0 27.9 2004 77.9 3.541 184.6 95.5 25.8 2005 79.9 3.632 190.5 95.0 3.9 2006 88.9 4.041 195.0 103.2 14.1 2007 87.9 3.996 204.4 97.4 25.6 2008 103.9 4.723 212.1 110.9 33.4
¶ Note: this column represents the % increase over 5 years in the non inflated adjusted petrol price.
(Last updated April 2008)
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Originally Posted by Mart
