UK petrol prices up

Price of filling fuel tank hits £100 as diesel price races to record high of 143.05p a litre

This is Money,

18 February, 2012

The price of diesel raced to a record high last night in a devastating blow to millions of motorists.

The average forecourt price hit 143.05p a litre – meaning it now costs more than £100 to fill up the 70-litre tank in a typical family car.

It means the price of filling up has increased by £20.50 in just two years – a punishing 26 per cent. 

The price of diesel at the pumps now averages 142.9p a litre - just shy of the record of 143.04p set last May

Petrol prices are also on the rise. They hit 135.39p a litre yesterday, just shy of the 137.43p record reached in May last year.

The Retail Motor Industry, a lobby group for petrol station owners, said the latest price surge was a ‘disaster for motorists’ ahead of a planned 3p-a-litre increase in fuel duty in August.

It is feared that the rise will push up the price of other everyday essentials such as food as everyone from farmers to supermarkets look to recoup the higher costs of transporting goods.

‘The impact of record diesel prices will be felt by everyone as higher transport costs are passed on to business and consumers,’ said AA president Edmund King.

‘A stronger pound has staved off this moment for longer than might have been expected. Diesel drivers across the country have been watching in trepidation. 

‘They hoped that below-record prices would hold until the spring, when winter price pressures on diesel traditionally ease.

‘With some delivery and haulage firms adding a diesel surcharge to invoices, costs will rise faster than most people expect and stoke inflation again.

‘Like petrol, there is no price transparency in the wholesale and retail diesel market.’

Soaring: Diesel has now reached £1.43 per litre - and prices could go even higher before Easter

He added: ‘Although the diesel price has been influenced by refinery closures, unreliable supply into Europe and stock market speculators taking advantage of a tight market, there is no way for businesses and consumers to find out whether or not they are paying a fair price.’

The recent rise in oil price has come as a surprise. It was thought the price would remain stable at a lower level but tensions in the Middle East and Iran have driven it up amid fears about supply from the oil-rich region. 

The AA has written to Chancellor George Osborne calling for an investigation of the oil, refining, fuel product and retail markets ‘to ensure UK families and business are protected from over-inflated prices and supply difficulties’.

It has also called for an end to annual fuel duty hikes while the economy falters. This includes cancelling the planned rise in August. 

Northern Ireland has the highest average petrol prices - 135.9p a litre - while northern England has the cheapest, at 134.2p (file picture)

Two years ago, diesel in the UK averaged 113.62p a litre. Then, it cost £79.50 to fill the 70-litre fuel tank on a Ford Mondeo.

RMI petrol chairman Brian Madderson claimed a ‘perfect storm’ of rising oil prices and worries about supply could push diesel and petrol prices even higher by Easter.

He said it would put the livelihoods of hundreds of petrol station owners and staff at risk.

The previous high for diesel was 143.04p a litre in May last year, at the height of the ‘Arab Spring’. 

The uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa pushed up oil prices, and in turn prices at the pumps, amid fears over a shortage of supply.

RAC spokesman John Franklin said: ‘The new record price of diesel shows the issue of rising fuel prices isn’t going away. Drivers continue to be hit hard in their pockets during these tough economic times.

‘With a further 3p-a-litre fuel duty rise planned in August, we hope the Chancellor will take a look at this in the Budget.’