RAC urges retailers to ‘play fair’ and blames supermarkets for driving up retail fuel prices during ‘record’ October

The average prices of both petrol and diesel hit new record highs in October, after rising by nearly 7.5ppl and 8ppl respectively, with RAC Fuel Watch blaming the supermarkets for driving the “enormous retail price jumps”.

The RAC says the profit margin retailers are taking on each litre of petrol is making forecourt prices artificially high,and urges the biggest retailers to ’play fair’ with drivers.

Based on Experian Catalist data from 1-31 October, with the first half beset with fuel shortages, RAC Fuel Watch reports that petrol exceeded the 142.48ppl all-time peak set on April 16, 2012 by reaching 142.94ppl on Sunday, October 24, with the price of unleaded rising faster than in any month since 2000.

Since then the price has continued to rise, finishing the month at 144.35ppl – up from 136.92ppl at the start. Diesel also surpassed its record price of April 12, 2012 (147.93ppl) on the last day of the month with a new high of 147.94ppl, up from 139.78ppl on October 1.

The October hike in the price of unleaded is the largest since 2000 at 7.43ppl while diesel’s 8.16ppl increase is second only to the 8.43ppl jump seen in May 2008. The increase has added a massive rise of £4 to the cost of filling up a 55-litre family petrol car (£79.39) and £4.50 for a diesel (£81.37) compared to the start of October. The previous biggest petrol price rise in a single month was in May 2018 when a litre went up 6ppl to 129.41ppl.

The RAC estimates that both petrol and diesel are now 30ppl – 26% – more expensive than a year ago (petrol –114.46ppl on October 29, 2020 to 144.35ppl now; and diesel – 117.82ppl to 147.94ppl now); meaning it costs £16.50 more to fill up a family car with either fuel than it did at the end of October 2020.

Oil rose by nearly $5 a barrel (6%) from $78.62 to $83.47 last month, although on October 25 it peaked at $86.16. This caused the wholesale price of a litrecompared to the 7.5ppl and 8ppl forecourt rises.

RAC Fuel Watch says the data shows the enormous retail price jumps appear to have been driven by the big four supermarkets which upped the price of unleaded by more than 9ppl and diesel by more than 10ppl to averages of 142.18ppl and 145.28ppl respectively.

Asda had the cheapest petrol at 140.98p, only slightly lower than Sainsbury’s at 141.68p. Sainsbury’s, however, offered the lowest price diesel at 144.37p, just slightly less than Asda which charged 144.57p at the end of October.

The average price of motorway petrol was 158.43ppl on October 31, with a record price set the day before at 158.56ppl. Diesel closed October at a new all-time high of 163.08ppl.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams, said: “October 2021 set records for all the wrong reasons and was a horrible month for drivers with both petrol and diesel prices hitting new heights. The increases of almost 7.5p being added to a litre of unleaded and more than 8p going on to diesel are some of the highest we’ve seen in the 21 years we’ve been tracking fuel prices.

“Sadly, since passing the old record from 2012 the price of petrol has continued to climb and closed October at an eye-watering average of 144.35ppl. With a fill-up costing £16.50 more than a year ago, the impact is definitely being felt in homes up and down the country. It’s also bound to have a negative effect on the economy.

“There is, however, a glimmer of hope that the oil price may have peaked for the time being, but much will of course depend on whether more supply is released when oil producer group OPEC+ next meets on Thursday.

“Regardless of this, the profit margin retailers are taking on each litre of petrol is greater now than it used to be prior to the pandemic, which is artificially making forecourt prices higher, particularly as VAT is charged on top. We urge the biggest retailers, in particular, to play fair with drivers and ease the burden at the pumps by lowering their margins on petrol from around 8p a litre to more normal levels.

“This month’s RAC Fuel Watch data also reveals the extent of the fuel price ‘postcode lottery’, with petrol prices in Northern Ireland being nearly 3ppl cheaper than the South East of England where prices are higher than anywhere else.

“While Northern Ireland has the cheapest petrol and diesel in the UK, drivers there still saw an 8ppl leap in the price of unleaded. A litre of diesel in Northern Ireland is 144.36ppl – the same as the average price of petrol across the UK. In the North East diesel rocketed by a frightening 9ppl to 147.22ppl.”

Regional pump prices compared

UK national average pump prices quoted are based on Experian Catalist data from 1-31 October 2021. Wholesale prices, oil price and the value of sterling are based on data from 1-29 October 2021.