USA: According to a report in the Daily Mail, thousands of pubs in the UK may have to close this year as a result of rising petrol prices.

The Mail reported on Sunday that more than 1,000 pubs closed in the UK in 2022, including 485 in the first half of the year and another 554 between July and December, "a staggering rate of 21 per week," according to data from consumer group the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

Restrictions related to Covid were very detrimental to the British pub industry in 2020 and 2021. Gas prices skyrocketed last year as a result of economic fallout from the Ukraine conflict and sanctions against Russia, a significant supplier of gas to Europe.

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One owner of a pub was charged a "whopping £2,097 [$2,600] for just 10 days' worth of energy," according to a report in the Daily Mail. Some pubs have reported a tripling of their monthly electricity bills.

The figures were released at the same time that the UK government's Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which had capped energy prices, ended on Friday. A new initiative that will last for a year and give non-domestic energy users discounts on high energy bills has just been put into effect.

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The initiative aims to assist companies that were bound by energy contracts at the height of the price spike. Wholesale energy costs have been declining in recent months and have now returned to the pre-Ukrainian conflict levels. The government asserts that the reductions might not have been distributed to businesses.

According to Sky News last week, the Federation of Small Businesses has rejected the measures, saying they won't aid business owners in meeting their financial obligations.

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About 6,000 small, independent pubs, according to CAMRA, are in danger of going out of business.

Dave Hayward, a CAMRA member and owner of a beer store, told the Daily Mail that "the industry has months left. There will be a complete bloodbath after that.