Thread by @theipaper

⛽️ Figures show that panic buying caused the UK petrol crisis, not fuel shortages 📉

🔴from @tomjs

inews.co.uk/news/fuel-shor…

❓Did deliveries to filling stations fall?

Yes marginally - but panic buying was the leading cause of fuel shortages.

Data shows that deliveries fell in England at the start of September by around 200 litres per filling station on average.

This prompted panic...

Was the panic warranted?

This was actually a small drop - especially in comparison to earlier in the year when fuel deliveries fell by considerably larger amounts.

The panic/uptick in demand ➕ a slight drop in deliveries created a slight mismatch between supply and demand.

As more people became aware of the shortage, panic-buying of fuel increased rapidly.

🚗🚕🚐🚛🚚🚌🚙🚓🚑

Just several weeks after the initial fall in supply, sales of petrol skyrocketed.

📅By Monday 20th September, panic-buying across England started to increase, with sales increasing by a third on that day alone.

📅On Friday the 24th, sales increased by almost 80%

Deliveries of fuel were unable to keep pace with the massive increase in demand across the UK.

⛽️As of this week, fuel stock levels in the UK are returning to normal with Scotland almost at pre-pandemic levels, rising to around 35% with Wales not far behind at around 30% full.

England has lagged slightly, with the average filling station being around a quarter full.

The Midlands and the south of England have been slowest to get back to pre-fuel crisis levels.

While stocks have recovered far faster in the north of the country.

🔴Did fuel deliveries drop? Yes

BUT panic buying appears to be the largest culprit of the fuel shortages.

Read more: inews.co.uk/news/fuel-shor…