Iran war oil price rise adds £64,000 to firm's weekly fuel bill

Oil price rises caused by the Iran war have added £64,000 to a Welsh haulier's weekly fuel bill, with concerns that consumers will eventually face higher prices for food and clothing. Huw Owen, who founded Wales' largest haulage company in 1972, said prices for diesel were up 30% and were still climbing. The Road Haulage Association (RHA) warned increased costs would "inevitably" be passed on, and called for the UK government to maintain the 5p cut in fuel duty which is due to end in September. A Treasury spokesperson said ministers would ensure drivers got "a fair deal" at the pump. Owen's company said its suppliers had stopped the ability to order a week's worth of fuel in advance and it was now having to negotiate the cost of daily deliveries to its depots. When oil prices shot up in the wake of the war in Iran, he said "we felt it as a company immediately", with the current price about 30% higher than pre-war fuel costs. Owens Group operates a fleet of about 600 trucks and vans which travel the length of the United Kingdom, delivering goods on behalf of other businesses. "With a fleet of that size, we burn a tanker [of fuel] a day. So before this, we were ordering fuel a week o