Fuel hikes: Average cost of filling family petrol car exceeds £90
A BP service station in Chelmsford, Essex - Credit: PA
Drivers have been hit by fuel prices reaching new highs, despite a slump in wholesale costs.
Figures from data firm Experian Catalist show the average cost of a litre of unleaded petrol at UK forecourts yesterday - Monday, March 14 - was 163.7p.
This takes the cost of filling a typical 55-litre family car with petrol above £90 for the first time.
The average cost of a litre of diesel yesterday was a record 173.7p.
A month ago, pump prices were 148p per litre for petrol and 151.6p per litre for diesel.
Oil prices surged after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but declined in recent days, leading to a cut in wholesale costs for fuel retailers.
The price per barrel of Brent crude, the most commonly used way of measuring the UK’s oil price, reached 139 US dollars on March 7 - its highest level in 14 years.
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But the price plummeted to 109 US dollars two days later, and remains around that level.
RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: “It’s vital that the biggest retailers who buy fuel most often start to reflect these reductions at the pumps to give drivers a much-needed break from the pain of constantly rising prices.”
