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The Freight Transport Association is asking six leading oil companies
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to explain why diesel costs nearly 5p/lit more than petrol. FTA research shows that once fuel duty and VAT is removed there is a 33% price difference between the two—it claims this is at odds with traditional seasonal fluctuations. Diesel is usually more expensive than petrol during winter but the FTA says diesel Is now 4.62p/lit more expensive than unleaded petrol, compared with 338p in December last year, 1.72p in December 1999 and 0.53p in December 1998.
FTA chief executive Richard Turner says: "At present a 1,000-litre tank of diesel, typical for a maximum-weight lorry, costs 1181 (plus taxes). A car driver pays just £135 (plus taxes) for 1,000 litres of unleaded petrol. There is something wrong here. Why are diesel users—industry and diesel car drivers—paying so very much more for their fuel?"
A BP spokesman says seasonal trends at this time of year usually result in the spot price of petrol falling because of the end of the summer driving season in the US. The spot price of diesel rises because it comes from the same product as heating oil, which is more in demand during winter.
He adds that the current price difference has been exacerbated by competitive pressure: "While this factor applies to all fuel products, the petrol market at present is particularly competitive."