The average price of bulk diesel dropped by 4.5% in July compared to June’s figures, but it remained 4.0% above the average seen in May, data from RHA has demonstrated.
Excluding VAT, the average was 148.44ppl last month, the trade body’s figures show. That compares to 155.41ppl in June and 142.71ppl in May. Actual prices quoted in July for bulk diesel deliveries extended from 143.34ppl to 156.24ppl. Both represent a modest reduction from June’s span, but they are above May’s actuals by around the same margin.
It is now 14 months since the average price of bulk diesel excluding VAT was last below £1 per litre, in May 2021. Over the 12 months to July, bulk diesel costs have risen by 44.0%, according to RHA’s data.
The average price of Brent measured in US$ fell by 10.5% in July. Sterling also slid further against the dollar, slightly mitigating that reduction. Brent was 20.5% more expensive in dollar terms in July than it was in January, while the pound has lost almost 12% of its value against the dollar since then.
Associated information shared by RHA shows that pressure on oil supplies could last into 2023 as rising global consumption is predicted to continue. In the shorter term, government figures on forecourt fuel sales show that demand fell during the penultimate week of July and was 3.2% below the year-to-date average at that point.
A month earlier in June, the UK’s snapshot forecourt price of diesel including tax and duty was the fourth highest among the 27 EU nations plus the UK, being lower than only Sweden, Finland and Denmark.
However, when tax and duty contributions are removed from the consideration, the forecourt diesel price in the UK during the same month was lower than in all Western European EU member states except France, and below several Eastern European EU member states, according to further government data.
RHA has repeatedly called on the government to introduce a 15ppl essential user rebate that would capture coach operators. It continues to ask those businesses to write to MPs urging them to support the measure.
