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Red diesel prices have eased from the record highs of last week after a sharp drop in the cost of crude oil.
Price quotes midweek were generally in the region of 100p/l to 110p/l, excluding VAT, for a delivery of 2,250 litres. Last week, a similar delivery would have cost close on 130p/l excluding VAT.
At the beginning of March, red diesel was in the region of 80p/l to 85p/l excluding VAT, with crude oil floating between US $100 and $110 per barrel. But oil price surged to $130 last week as several European countries, the US and the UK announced they would reduce reliance on Russian oil.
The market has since settled as other major oil exporting regions committed to ramping up production.
As a result, oil price fell below the $100 barrier midweek, which should see diesel prices continue to drop. However, prices are falling at a fraction of the speed at which they increased, leading to allegations of profiteering.
Farmers also point out that the recent increase seen in red diesel was much greater than for white diesel.
However, fuel distributors argue this is partly linked to availability and higher usage of red diesel across heavily mechanised industries such as agriculture, quarrying and general manufacturing.
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