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Petrol Prices

Since March 1983 i have kept a detailed record of petrol prices and petrol consumption, spanning fourteen different cars, both privately-owned and company. The table below records the movement in petrol prices over that period, taking in each year the first petrol 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 petrol.

The table shows that the price of petrol in real terms is now 4% lower in March 2009 than in 1983, the oil price having fallen substantially since March 2008. However, this disguises the fact that "real" petrol prices fell between 1983 and 1992, encouraging a boom in road traffic, but then rose sharply due to the "petrol duty escalator", resulting in the petrol protest of 2000. At this time, petrol prices had risen by over 50% in five years, which undoubtedly caused much hardship. The rate of Retail Price Index inflation has also fallen slightly between 2008 and 2009.

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 petrol 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 was a further sharp spike in the international oil price, with unleaded reaching a startling peak in July of 540.5p/gallon (118.9p/litre).

Of the March 2012 price of 134.1p/litre, 80.3p or 59.9% went to the government (57.95p fuel duty and 22.35p VAT).

For information about current petrol prices in your local area, take a look at Compare Petrol Prices

Petrol Prices 1983-2012
Year Price per Litre (p) Price per Gallon (£) Retail
Prices
Index
Petrol 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
2009 89.9 4.087 211.3 96.2 15.4
2010 111.9 5.087 220.7 114.8 40.1
2011 129.9 5.905 232.5 126.5 46.1
2012 134.1 6.096 240.8 126.1 52.6


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Note: this column represents the % increase over 5 years in the non inflated adjusted petrol price.

(Last updated April 2012)

 

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