Fuel costs are affecting many UK businesses, Vehicle management specialist Adept Vehicle Management have produced a summary below of the very latest fuel costing’s

• Diesel: £6.41 (No change)
• Petrol: £6.02
• LPG: £3.46

December 2011 Movement

Average petrol prices have fallen to their lowest in nine months, although still within 5p of the record high set in May. The gap between the litre price of petrol and diesel has grown 1.36p over the past month to 8.61p. Barrel price: $107. Unleaded prices have fallen by 1.2ppl from 133.7ppl to 132.5ppl. Diesel prices have risen by 0.2ppl from 140.9ppl to 141.1ppl. The price difference between unleaded and diesel has risen to 8.6ppl.

London recorded the highest price for unleaded at 133.8ppl. Yorkshire and Humberside recorded the lowest price for unleaded at 131.3ppl. Northern Ireland recorded the highest diesel price at 142.3ppl. Yorkshire and Humberside have the cheapest diesel at 140.4ppl.

Supermarket prices for unleaded fell by 0.5ppl to 131.0ppl. The gap between supermarket prices and the UK average for unleaded has fallen to 1.5ppl.

The UK has the seventh highest petrol price in Europe and the second highest diesel price.

Adept’s Consultant said ‘Away from the UK’s fuel taxation issues don't expect to see pump prices coming down any time soon we cannot totally blame the oil companies. Speculators are back buying oil, crude is up and we believe it’s all to do with Iran! Opportunistic traders know that if there's any conflict round the Persian Gulf then one of the world's most significant oil shipping lanes could get blocked (Iran). The Strait of Hormuz is a choke point and carries 15.5 million barrels of oil a day on 13 massive tankers adding up to nearly 40% of the world's oil. If the Iranians want to destabilise the global economy all they have to do is turn this relatively narrow maritime channel into a shooting match and the world's supply of oil slows down dramatically. Shortage of oil will increase demand will increase cost. If the spot price of oil goes up they can't fight against market forces. And don't forget the oil companies pay in dollars which, at the moment, is a stronger currency than sterling, which means UK forecourt prices are inevitably going to rise. It does not look good!”