Inflation: 'Rising rate to slow as petrol holds back growth'

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The price per barrel of Brent crude oil reached nearly $114 on Wednesday, its highest level since early July 2014, despite a decision by the US to release, with its allies, about 60m barrels from their strategic reserves in an attempt to stabilise global energy markets. Gas prices also rose, with the Dutch April gas contract hitting a new record high of €185 per megawatt-hour, the UK’s rising almost 40 percent to 398p a therm in morning trading, not far from the all-time high above 450p seen in late 2021.

The average cost of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts was at a fresh high of 151.67p on Tuesday, up from 151.16p on Monday, according to the data firm Experian Catalyst.

The average cost of a litre of diesel is also at a record high, reaching 155.23p.

As the prices continue to soar, searches for ‘can’t afford energy’ exploded to the highest point in history as customers face skyrocketing bills.

Analysis of Google search data reveals that searches for ‘can’t afford energy’ exploded 2300 percent from February 2022 – the highest level in internet history.

In February, Ofgem announced its energy price cap increase of £693, meaning the UK will see bill increases of 50 percent from April 2022.

The analysis, by energy experts Boiler Central, reveals that searches for ‘can’t afford energy’ exploded to over 20 times the average volume within the past month, an unprecedented increase in people searching for ‘can’t afford energy’, according to Google search data analysis.

The data also reveals that searches for ‘help with energy’ and ‘energy bill help’ skyrocketed 1000 percent and 2300 percent respectively in February.

Myles Robinson, energy expert at Boiler Central said: “The UK has already dealt with eye-watering bills over the past few months due to inflation and the soaring costs of wholesale oil.

“Now, we’re having to face the stark reality of the energy price cap increase in April, with many customers receiving messages from their energy companies informing them of how much extra they will pay – for some, this amounts to hundreds of pounds more than their original bills.

“While the government is offering an ‘energy bill rebate’ where energy customers will have £200 knocked off their bills, this functions as more of a ‘loan’ or a ‘buy now pay later scheme’, according to Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis, as families will have to repay the loan eventually.

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“Many households in the UK are balancing their budgets on a knife-edge and having to pay even a few pounds – let alone hundreds of pounds – extra could knock them into debt and poverty.

“Some energy suppliers do offer hardship funds, where customers can get up to £750 off your energy bills if they are living in fuel poverty, so if you are struggling, it’s worth checking if your supplier offers this”

Russia is the world’s third-biggest oil producer behind the US and Saudi Arabia and it typically exports about 5m barrels b/d of crude oil and around 2.7m b/d of products such as diesel.

It sends 2.5m to 2.6m b/d of crude oil to Europe either via pipelines or tankers, and sells 2m b/d of oil products in Europe, the US, and Canada.

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