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UK panic buying, up to 90% of fuel pumps dry

A warning not to panic buy seems to have fallen on deaf ears in the UK.

As up to 90% of fuel stations ran dry across major English cities on Monday (September 27).

The rush to fill up deepened a supply chain crisis triggered by a shortage of truckers.

Retailers are now warning the issue could batter the world's fifth-largest economy.

A dire post-Brexit shortage of truck drivers has sown chaos through supply chains for everything from food to fuel.

And has left consumers fearing price rises in the run up to Christmas.

The petrol shortage came just days after Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government spent millions of pounds to avert a food shortage.

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That was due to a spike in prices for natural gas and its byproduct, carbon dioxide.

Reacting to the fuel shortage, the government suspended competition laws to allow firms to work together.

On Sunday it also announced a plan to issue temporary visas for 5,000 foreign truck drivers.

But business leaders have warned the plan is a short-term fix and will not solve an acute labour shortage.