Petrol Prices

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

The table shows that the price of fuel in real terms is now 15% higher in March 2010 than in 1983, the oil price having risen steadily since March 2009, and the price also having been affected by the weakness of the pound against the dollar. The real terms price is now a record for the period covered, and is over 50% higher than in 1990. During the period covered by the table, "real" fuel prices fell between 1983 and 1992, encouraging a boom in road traffic, but then rose sharply due to the "fuel duty escalator", resulting in the fuel protest of 2000. At this time, fuel prices had risen by over 50% in five years, which undoubtedly caused much hardship.

Petrol Prices 1983-2010
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

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 fuel 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). Recently, the price has continued to increase after the beginning of March, with my most recent fill-up having been at a personal record of 545.1p/gallon (119.9p/litre).