Long queues snaked through Costco car park on Monday as drivers waited up to an hour to refill
Huge queues formed at petrol stations across Merseyside after oil prices surged by up to 13% on Monday, March 2, following US and Israeli strikes on Iran. Drivers were forced to wait up to an hour to refill, with particularly long lines reported at Costco Vauxhall and Go 24 Hour Express Petrol Station in Kirkdale.
The spike came amid escalating conflict in the Middle East, with retaliatory Iranian attacks disrupting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a key route carrying around 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies. Brent crude briefly climbed to $82 a barrel, its highest level since January last year, before easing to $79 by early morning, according to PA.
More than 200 vessels dropped anchor outside the Strait after tanker damage and attacks in Gulf waters, heightening concerns about the potential impact on UK fuel prices, inflation and interest rates.
Photographs taken by ECHO photographers earlier today and again this evening capture the scale of the chaos as motorists waited to fill up.
