Petrol and diesel pump prices have jumped for the fourth straight month on the back of spiking oil prices.
Petrol went up by 2p a litre in January, rising from 136.9p to to an average of 139p, RAC analysis reveals. Diesel increased nearly 3p from 142.9p to 145.7p.
Petrol is now 4p more expensive than it was at the start of October, while diesel is nearly 6p dearer than four months ago.
The cost of filling up a 55-litre family petrol car is over £2 more expensive than it was four months ago (£76.44, compared to £74.25 when a litre was 135p) and diesel more than £3 more expensive (£80.15 a tank, compared to £76.70 when a litre was 139.5p).
The rises were driven by a mid-month spike in the oil price which saw the cost of a barrel shoot up above $80 for several days. This, together with a slight weakening in the value of the pound which made wholesale fuel more expensive to buy, had an unwelcome effect on the UK’s forecourts.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “We hope this trend won’t continue and that prices drop back down again. Much, of course, depends on global oil supply and demand. 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.”
Supermarket forecourts remain cheaper – but prices there have also jumped up. The average price of a litre of unleaded at one of the big four supermarkets rose by 1.6p a litre to 134p in January and diesel by almost 2p to 141.6p. Supermarket-bought petrol is currently 3.5p cheaper than the UK average, while diesel is 4p lower.
The average price of petrol at a motorway service station went up by 3.5p in January. Petrol is now 161.9p a litre and diesel 169.83p.
Across the UK, excluding motorway services, England has the most expensive 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).