Pump prices have risen for the fourth consecutive month, with petrol up by 2p a litre and diesel by almost 3p in January, according to the RAC.
This makes unleaded petrol 5p a litre more expensive than it was at the start of October and diesel 6p more, says RAC Fuel Watch data.
The motoring organisation says that the rises – which take unleaded to an average of 139p a litre, and diesel to 145.7p – have been driven by a mid-month spike in the oil price which saw the cost of a barrel shoot up above $80 for several days. It adds that this, together with a slight weakening in the value of the pound which made wholesale fuel more expensive to buy, had an effect on UK forecourts’ prices.
The RAC is hopeful that retail prices of fuel will soon decrease, but accepts that this is heavily dependent on factors outside of petrol station owners’ control.
“Much, of course, depends on global oil supply and demand,” says its head of policy Simon Williams. “While the price of oil can be notoriously volatile, there’s reason to think forecourt fuel prices may get cheaper in the coming months as some analysts are predicting an average oil price nearer to $70 this year.”
The RAC Fuel Watch data also shows that supermarket-bought petrol is currently 3.5p a litre cheaper in January than the UK average, and that diesel is 4p a litre lower. Meanwhile, the average price of petrol at motorway service stations (MSAs) was significantly higher at 161.9p a litre for unleaded and 169.83p for diesel.
Geographically, excluding MSAs, England is the most expensive with unleaded at an average of 138.5p, closely followed by Wales at 137.3p and Scotland 136.9p, with Northern Ireland far cheaper at 133.1p. For diesel, England is again the dearest at 145.2p. Scotland and Wales are similar at 143.9p and 143.4p respectively, while Northern Ireland is just below 140p (137.9p).