Harder still is absorbing the hostility he and his staff are facing from customers.
Raven has gone out of his way to explain why prices are rising, talking to drivers while they are filling up, and posting about the situation on social media.
“We’ve tried to be transparent and open. We’re trying to get the message out on what’s happening but unfortunately some people are coming in and being vile to my team,” he says.
He understands why people are upset, but says it is not fair to take it out on his staff. Fuel theft has risen too, he says.
The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), which represents operators in the sector, has criticised what it calls the government’s “inflammatory language”, which it says could encourage poor behaviour.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said this week the authorities were on the look out for price gouging – exploiting rising prices to make bigger profits – and would step in if customers were being “ripped off”.
The PRA rejects the suggestion that is happening now. It says some of its members could even find themselves making a loss on diesel, which has seen its price shoot up particularly sharply.
But the Competition and Markets Authority has in the past identified a lack of transparency and competition in the sector and is primed to monitor prices closely now. It is likely report any findings in April.
In the meantime a new fuel finder app, which makes prices available to motorists, and now covers more than 90% of fuel retailers, should help to ensure a more competitive market for fuel.
“I can understand concerns around profiteering,” says Raven. But he doesn’t think that is what is happening – certainly not in his case, he says.
“We’re working on a 4% profit margin. This is hardly profiteering.”
Raven says he hopes the situation in the Middle East will settle sooner rather than later, and when it does, he’ll adjust his prices straight away.
“The second we get our savings, we’ll pass it onto our customers,” he says.