Interesting figures about petrol and diesel consumption declines have just been released by the Britain’s HM Revenue and Customs
In fact, the figures show that UK petrol consumption for January fell to its lowest level on record. That is one per cent down on the previous January’s petrol consumption and just under 12.7 per cent less than a similar month five years ago.
Diesel suffered an even great drop of 5.6 per cent this January from January 2016, but if you go back to the similar month five years ago, diesel consumption in the UK was 5.1 per cent higher.
More fuel efficient vehicles is given as one reason, but the highest pump prices since late 2014 is the reason favoured by most observers. A survey of over 20,000 AA members found that nearly a quarter of of them have been restricting their car use.
Should the Irish Government’s Public Accounts Committee be investigating the costs of wholesale and retail rates for petrol and road diesel to make sure that Irish motorists and businesses are getting a fair deal? The speed and rate of increases of pump prices relating to rises in global crude oil prices here certainly differs from the speed and rate it decreases at, when global prices for a barrel of crude fall.