Renewed tensions in the Middle East leading to oil passing the $100 a barrel mark have seen fuel prices rise by 5ppl in the space of a week, with unleaded now at a four-year high.
The average price of a litre of unleaded stands at 167.17p with diesel at 188.63p, and both fuels increasing by 5p in the last seven days.
Petrol has just experienced its sharpest weekly increase since April, while the last time unleaded was this expensive was in 2022 when the Ukrainian conflict saw prices peak – though diesel is below the 191.54p high it reached back in April this year due to Iranian tensions.
Rod Dennis from the RAC, which compiled the data, says drivers are “having to dig ever deeper into their pockets every time they fill up”, and warned there is “no sign of any relief yet”.
Dennis adds: “With the cost of a barrel of oil having averaged $96 for the last week, wholesale prices are surging and that’s already feeding through to prices at the forecourt.”
Last week the Petrol Retailers Association wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey, urging him to use next month’s Budget to make the 5ppl fuel duty discount permanent, rather than winding it down from January, as is currently planned.
