PRA Budget 2021 Comment

Brian Madderson, Chairman of The Petrol Retailers Association

The Petrol Retailers’ Association welcomes the Chancellors confirmation in today’s budget that fuel duty will continue to be frozen for a further 12 months. This will be the 12^th year in a row that this tax has been unchanged.

The levy has been frozen at 57.95p per litre for petrol and diesel since March 2011.

The cost of a barrel has more than doubled over the last year, from $40 to around $85 now. Some analysts predict this could pass $90 by the end of the year.

The cost of filling the typical 55-litre tank in a family car is now £20 more than it was in May 2020, when the average petrol pump price plunged to 106.48p a litre in lockdown. The typical motorist fills up twice a month, meaning fuel bills have increased by around £40 a month over this period.

With pump prices at an eight year high, PRA has been lobbying Government and the Treasury, in particular outlining the potentially damaging effects on the economy and household budgets of even an inflation-linked rise, so it is positive to hear the Chancellor’s commitment.