Diesel drivers are being “ripped-off” at the pumps to the tune of around 16p per litre, according to a motoring group.
The RAC, along with others, has long argued that British motorists and businesses are paying over the odds for the fuel – the engine behind the UK economy – fanning the flames of inflation and the cost of living crisis in the process.
RAC Fuel Watch analysis showed diesel was 6p a litre cheaper than petrol on the wholesale market at the end of last month.
The average pump price, however, stood at 159.43p while petrol was unchanged at 146.5p.
While the report noted a 4p-per-litre drop for diesel at forecourts during April it said prices in Northern Ireland, where there is a fuel price transparency mechanism in place, were more realistic at 147.47p.
It believed drivers should be paying around 143p “at the very most” for a litre of diesel.
UK drivers faced record fuel bills last year when Russia’s war in Ukraine drove up the cost of oil.
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Fuel became a major driver of inflation, which hit a 41-year high last autumn.
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Costs have only slowly eased as oil prices have come down from their June 2022 peak and supermarkets, which used to lead the way on fuel price cuts, signalled last year that the days of cheap fuel were over as they concentrate their firepower on food value due to the squeeze on household budgets.
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However, fuel promotions are once more being used by stores as lures for shoppers.
The RAC said supermarket diesel was 2.75p cheaper than the national average price while the figure stood at 3.5p for unleaded.
Motoring groups and campaign groups have long argued for greater transparency over the price of petrol but a Competition and Markets Authority report last year essentially gave retailers a clean bill of health.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “We feel there should be an obligation on retailers to reflect wholesale price movements on their forecourts.
“Sadly, the only place this seems to happen is in Northern Ireland where a litre of diesel is, incredibly, being sold for 12p less than the UK-wide average.
“Our data shows that the average retailer margin on a litre of diesel is a shocking 22p a litre compared to petrol which is around 8p.
“The long-term averages for both fuels is 7p which means retailers are making three times what they have in the past for diesel. This is hard for them to justify and equally hard for diesel drivers to swallow.
“Action at a government level is badly needed to stop drivers being ripped off any longer.”
Gordon Balmer, executive director of the Petrol Retailers Association which represents independent operators, responded: “The independent sector accounts for approximately 36% market share by fuel sale while the supermarkets are market leaders at 45%.
“Due to their market share, supermarkets are price leaders and in many cases our members will use them as markers for pump prices when operating in the same area.
“This dynamic is now shifting, with many commentators noting that independent forecourts are increasingly offering more competitive prices.”
A spokesperson for the British Retail Consortium, which represents the major retailers, told Sky News: “The price of diesel has been falling consistently throughout 2023 as retailers aim to provide their customers with the best value for money.”
Burberry is kicking off a formal search for a new chairman nearly a year after installing the latest in a string of chief executives charged with reviving the luxury fashion brand.
Sky News understands that Burberry is working with headhunters on a hunt for Gerry Murphy’s successor.
Mr Murphy, who also chairs Tesco, is not expected to step down this year, although the precise timing has yet to be formally determined, according to insiders.
Last summer, Sky News reported that Burberry had commenced a search for a non-executive director capable of taking over from Mr Murphy in due course.
That mandate is now said to have evolved into a more straightforward hunt for a new chair, sources suggested.
Planning for his departure comes as Burberry and other luxury goods manufacturers grapple with the uncertainty of swingeing tariffs amid an escalating international trade war.
The company is now being run by Joshua Schulman, the former Jimmy Choo boss, who was drafted in last July to arrest its decline.
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Mr Schulman replaced Jonathan Akeroyd, who left in the wake of a string of profit warnings.
Shares in Burberry closed on Tuesday at 738.8p, giving it a market value of about £2.6bn.
The stock is down by more than a third over the last year.
A spokesperson for Burberry said: “In the normal course of business, we look at succession planning for board roles as they reach term.”
Food inflation has hit its highest level in almost a year and could continue to go up, according to an industry body.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported a 2.6% annual lift in food costs during April – the highest level since May last year and up from a 2.4% rate the previous month.
The body said there was a clear risk of further increases ahead due to rising costs, with the sector facing £7bn of tax increases this year due to the budget last October.
It warned that shoppers risked paying a higher price – but separate industry figures suggested any immediate blows were being cushioned by the effects of a continuing supermarket price war.
Kantar Worldpanel, which tracks trends and prices, said spending on promotions reached its highest level this year at almost 30% of total sales over the four weeks to 20 April.
It said that price cuts, mainly through loyalty cards, helped people to make the most of the Easter holiday with almost 20% of items sold at respective market leaders Tesco and Sainsbury’s on a price match.
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Its measure of wider grocery inflation rose to 3.8%, however.
Wider BRC data showed overall shop price inflation at -0.1% over the 12 months to April, with discounting largely responsible for weaker non-food goods.
But its chief executive, Helen Dickinson, said retailers were “unable to absorb” the surge in costs they were facing.
“The days of shop price deflation look numbered,” she said, as food inflation rose to its highest in 11 months, and non-food deflation eased significantly.
“Everyday essentials including bread, meat, and fish, all increased prices on the month. This comes in the same month retailers face a mountain of new employment costs in the form of higher employer National Insurance Contributions and increased NLW [national living wage],” she added.
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While retail sales growth has proved somewhat resilient this year, it is believed big rises to household bills in April – from things like inflation-busting water, energy and council tax bills – will bite and continue to keep a lid on major purchases.
Also pressing on both consumer and business sentiment is Donald Trump’s trade war – threatening further costs and hits to economic growth ahead.
A further BRC survey, also published on Tuesday, showed more than half of human resources directors expect to reduce hiring due to the government’s planned Employment Rights Bill.
The bill, which proposes protections for millions of workers including guaranteed minimum hours, greater hurdles for sacking new staff and increased sick pay, is currently being debated in parliament.
The BRC said one of the biggest concerns was that guaranteed minimum hours rules would hit part-time roles.
On the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, factory workers at Dony Garment have been working overtime for weeks.
Ever since Donald Trump announced a whopping 46% trade tariff on Vietnam, they’ve been preparing for the worst.
They’re rushing through orders to clients in three separate states in America.
Sewing machines buzz with the sound of frantic efforts to do whatever they can before Mr Trump’s big decision day. He may have put his “Liberation Day” tariffs on pause for 90 days, but no one in this factory is taking anything for granted.
Image: Staff have been working overtime
Workers like Do Thi Anh are feeling the pressure.
“I have two children to raise. If the tariffs are too high, the US will buy fewer things. I’ll earn less money and I won’t be able to support my children either. Luckily here our boss has a good vision,” she tells me.
Image: Do Thi Anh
That vision was crafted back in 2021. When COVID struck, they started to look at diversifying their market.
Previously they used to export 40% of their garments to America. Now it’s closer to 20%.
The cheery-looking owner of the firm, Pham Quang Anh, tells me with a resilient smile: “We see it as dangerous to depend on one or two markets. So, we had to lose profit and spend on marketing for other markets.”
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That foresight could pay off in the months to come. But others are in a far more vulnerable state.
Some of Mr Pham’s colleagues in the industry export all their garments to America. If the 46% tariff is enforced, it could destroy their businesses.
Down by the Saigon River, young couples watch on as sunset falls between the glimmering skyscrapers that stand as a testament to Vietnam’s miracle growth.
Image: Cuong works in finance
Cuong, an affluent-looking man who works in finance, questions the logic and likelihood that America will start making what Vietnam has spent years developing the labour, skills and supply chains to reliably deliver.
“The United States’ GDP is so high. It’s the largest in the world right now. What’s the point in trying to get jobs from developing countries like Vietnam and other Asian nations? It’s unnecessary,” he tells me.
But the Trump administration claims China is using Vietnam to illegally circumvent tariffs, putting “Made in Vietnam” labels on Chinese products.
There’s no easy way to assess that claim. But market watchers believe Vietnam does need to signal its willingness to crack down on so-called “trans-shipments” if it wants to cut a deal with Washington.
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The US may also demand a major cutback in Chinese manufacturing in Vietnam.
That will be a much harder deal to strike. Vietnam can’t afford to alienate its big brother.
Image: Luke Treloar, head of strategy at KPMG in Vietnam
Luke Treloar, head of strategy at KPMG in Vietnam, is however cautiously optimistic.
“If Vietnam goes into these trade talks saying we will be a reliable manufacturer of the core products you need and the core products America wants to sell, the outcome could be good,” he says.
But the key question is just how much influence China will have on Vietnamese negotiators.
Anything above 10-20% tariffs would be intensively challenging
This moment is a huge test of Vietnam’s resilience.
Anything like 46% tariffs would be ruinous. Analysts say 10-20% would be survivable. Anything above, intensely challenging.
But this looming threat is also an opportunity for Vietnam to negotiate and grow. Not, though, without some very testing concessions.