The political unrest created by Russia’s decision to send troops into the Crimea region of Ukraine will lead to petrol and diesel prices rising in the coming weeks, the RAC has warned.

Fuel traders have already begun to buy up stocks to guard against being caught out in the event of the situation worsening, which automatically causes prices to increase due to a tightening in supply.

And, to make matters worse, the price of oil will almost certainly be negatively affected, further increasing fuel costs and, in turn, forecourt prices.

British fleets have enjoyed more than a month of the lowest average pump prices for three years.

The low forecourt prices were a result of fuel retailers passing on savings in the wholesale price which had eased in mid-January to around 100p a litre for petrol and 129p for diesel.

However, even before the appearance of Russian troops in Ukraine, wholesale prices had begun to rise again as a result of the pound losing ground against the dollar (despite it being around 12% stronger than it was a year ago) and oil stocks declining, thereby causing prices to rise.

RAC head of external affairs Pete Williams said: “The tensions in Ukraine, brought about by Russia’s unprecedented move, will unfortunately affect everyone driving a vehicle in the UK as the fuel market is intrinsically linked to major international political events.

“While we can all only hope for a speedy resolution to this situation, from a motorists’ perspective we really need the pound to continue performing well against the dollar as this could help to offset some of the inevitable price rises.”

Fleets wanting to keep a closer eye on which way fuel prices are heading can do so by clicking here.
 

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