Demand has gone up at pumps across the region
The scene at Oasis Services on the A165, on Friday.(Image: Oliver Blake)
Forecourt operators in the region have sought to reassure drivers they have fuel as motoring groups have warned not to dash to the pumps amid the conflict unfolding in the Middle East. A steady flow of vehicles could be seen at Oasis Services on the A165 at Long Riston on Friday, where customers filled up amid concerns about wholesale prices spiking following supply chain disruption.
Oliver Blake, who runs the independent family business, explained his Jet-branded forecourt is on weekly pricing from wholesalers, meaning prices are effective from Monday. Some forecourts are on daily, or “spot” pricing which has seen some rises filter through more quickly.
The businessman, who was due to be presenting at an industry conference in Abu Dhabi in the coming days, said: “It’s been really busy this week, even for us, but we’ve kept supply and have tankers every day – we’re fine. We’re used to dealing with big volume uplifts as a site, it’s a normal thing for us.”
Mr Blake urged people to go about their normal fuel buying routine. He added: “I’ve seen sites in Hull being slated for putting their prices up but those sites are on spot pricing and nobody intentionally puts 20p on to kill their own business. But at the same time it doesn’t make sense for them to absorb that because then they’re losing money, and for a retailer you’re talking pennies margin.”
Joseph Richardson, the managing director of independent group Jos. Richardson & Son Ltd which runs petrol stations in Beverley, Howden and Goole, among others, sought to reassure his customers.
He said: “We are experiencing slightly elevated demand but it’s not at the stage where I’d say it was panic. We’ve been told by our suppliers that there is plenty of stock, plenty of availability, but of course if demand goes up they only have a finite number of trucks and lorry drivers so it’s just a spike in demand that they can’t cope with.
“The system is geared up for normal demand with a slight flex up but they maybe can’t cope with double. This week we have seen slightly elevated demand but it hasn’t translated into what I’d call panic buying of the type we saw during the lorry driver shortage five years ago and the Ukraine crisis.”
Earlier this week, the AA, urged people not to break their refuelling routine. The motoring group did point to rising prices.
Spokesman Luke Bosdet said: “However, pump averages today are still below where they started the year and petrol is almost 6.5p a litre cheaper than this time last year. That makes a tank of petrol more than £3.50 cheaper than in early March 2025.
“The fuel trade has reported some increased demand, which was expected, but drivers in general are heeding advice to stick to their usual refuelling routines. There’s no point wasting time, fuel and money queuing when drivers don’t need to.”
RAC head of policy Simon Williams urged retailers not to increase the price of fuel already in forecourt tanks. He said: “Knowing the tendency for price increases to be passed on far more quickly than cuts, on behalf of drivers we urge retailers not to put up the price of fuel they’ve already got in forecourt tanks and reflect any increases in wholesale fuel fairly on the forecourt.”
Did you know you can make Hull Live a preferred source of Hull news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here’s more information about what this means and how to do it – you can also do it straight away by clicking here.