Garage suspends fuel sales after steep price rise
BBCA garage owner has suspended fuel sales after a steep rise in costs since the conflict in the Middle East.
Mollie Ellis, who runs Youlgrave Garage in Derbyshire, uses two suppliers and said the price of super unleaded had increased by 20 pence per litre, with diesel rising by more than twice that figure.
She said the increase would have meant selling super unleaded at £1.82 per litre to customers, while diesel would need to be sold at almost £2 per litre.
"I feel bad for letting the customers down by not being able to supply fuel to them, but you've got to be sensible about it," she said.
"We are only a small business. We have got one mechanic, one apprentice and then there's me in the office so we can't afford to make a loss on fuel," she added.
Fuel sales make up a small proportion of the garage's business, with the majority of its services focusing on repair work and MOTs.
However, Ellis said many people in the area relied on buying their fuel from the garage.
It sells super unleaded rather than unleaded because it can be used in agricultural equipment and, as it is in a rural area, it is popular with farmers.
"A lot of them (the customers) are elderly and they do rely on it," added Ellis.
"Because we are only a small place, we don't get the discount that other places get."
The nearest fuel garages to Youlgrave are in Bakewell and Newhaven, which are both more than four miles away.
Internationally, oil prices have risen sharply since 28 February, when the US and Israel first launched air strikes on Iran.
In this time, Brent Crude, which is the benchmark for oil prices, has risen from $73 (£54.45) a barrel to about $108 (£80.56) as of Wednesday.
A $10 (£7.46) increase in the price of an oil barrel causes an increase of roughly seven pence per litre at the pump.
It is not just motorists who are feeling the pinch, with homes that are off the gas network also reporting an increase in heating oil.
Last week, Anna Barker, from the High Peak area of Derbyshire, discovered the cost of her heating oil had increased from 58 pence per litre to £1.30.
Many areas of the county are rural or semi-rural, with about 40% of homes in the Derbyshire Dales not connected to the gas network.
In the High Peak, a third of homes are in this position.
About a fifth of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which has effectively been closed since the military action started.
This has led to an increase in the price of oil that is used in the production of petrol and diesel.
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