BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Cycle retailers could be set to benefit from rocketing petrol prices.
According to this report from Reuters, the average cost of petrol is now 102.66p per litre, compared with 97.68p a month ago.
Crude oil prices around the world have been blamed for the rise – the second highest monthly increase ever – and with the Met Office predicting the hottest summer in three years, cycle retailers could have a busy season ahead.
A survey made by Bikes Belong last year concluded that rising petrol prices did fuel bike sales, while this year the average UK consumer also has a testing economic climate to contend with.
"At a time of recession, seeing petrol prices rise almost as fast as they did last summer is a bitter pill for UK drivers to swallow – many of whom have lost their jobs, had their pay frozen or have seen savings income collapse with falling interest rates,” said Automobile Association president Edmund King.
"Last year, huge demand for oil and fuels from China and other developing countries incentivised the stock markets to drive up the price of oil. This year, with hints of ‘green shoots’ and collapsed demand barely beginning to find its feet again, market speculators are again gambling on future oil demand that could turn out to be a fiction.
"So far they have managed to double the price of oil from a December low of 35 dollars a barrel to more than 70 dollars now."
