Don’t panic-buy fuel, say garage owners
FUEL prices are set to rise by up to 8p per litre in the coming days.
Islanders could soon be facing costs of more than £1.80 for unleaded, and prices for a litre of diesel could reach £2 by Christmas if current trends continue.
Le Mont Saint Garage managing director Pete Beausire said that fuel costs frequently fluctuate, and can be high one week and low the next.
But Guernsey Fuel and Oil Watch page operator Nigel Staples advised people to fill up their tanks while the cheaper rates are in place.
‘The [delivery] boat has recently come in and when that comes in that is when a lot of the prices are adjusted,’ said Mr Staples.
‘I suspect it is a dollar to pound readjustment as fuel prices take about six weeks to filter through.’
He questioned why, despite deliveries of fuel arriving in the island monthly, some garages appeared to increase their price per litre each week.
Le Mont Saint Garage has already had to put the cost of diesel from £1.79 up to £1.87 per litre, as its tank needed filling up right after the price increased.
Mr Beausire reminded customers there was no need to panic-buy.
‘It is really up and down at the moment. Things are being said about costs going up dramatically, but it just depends how garages fill up their tanks.’
The garage has a 15,000l tank for unleaded fuel, which is topped up regularly, and a 3,000l one for diesel, which is only refilled once it is empty.
‘It can take two or three weeks to sell that much diesel and the price hasn’t changed since then because we haven’t had to fill the tank.’
Some garages are able to maintain relatively low prices per litre as they are not taking big deliveries of fuel.
‘We reflect our price on when we are filling our tanks.
'We haven’t noticed any panic-buying yet. Luckily we are a small island and don’t see massive queues [for petrol] down the motorways,’ said Mr Beausire.
On Tuesday the lowest price for a litre of unleaded was £1.66 and the most expensive was £1.739.
Some retailers in Guernsey are still offering fuel vouchers to customers when they spend over a certain amount, including the Co-op.
