Petrol prices hit a new high of 178.5 pa liter as drivers’ associations warned ‘the worst is yet to come’.
The price of petrol rose by 0.6 pence in just 24 hours on Tuesday morning, and the price of diesel also climbed to 185.2 pa litre.
Drivers have been warned that ‘scary’ petrol prices will hit 180p a liter this week, with the RAC calling on the government to intervene at the pump and cut costs for families.
They said the price spike was “quickly becoming a national crisis” and the worst was yet to come.
They added that ‘radical government intervention’ is needed as figures from data firm Experian Catalist showed petrol prices soared by nearly 6p per liter on UK forecourts during the school holidays mid-term.
The average cost of a liter of petrol rose to 177.9p on Sunday, from 172.1p on May 27.
Diesel prices fell from 182.7p per liter to 185p over the same period.
The RAC warned that “the worst is yet to come” due to rising oil prices due to the war in Ukraine. “With oil now above US$120 a barrel and the pound still at US$1.2, the worst is yet to come,” said RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams.
“Unfortunately, we expect to see the average petrol price break through the 180p mark this week, with diesel moving further towards 190p.
“More radical government intervention is urgently needed, whether in the form of a further fuel tax cut or a VAT cut.
“As things stand, drivers surely won’t be able to cope unless something is done to help them.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak introduced a fuel tax cut of 5 pence per liter in late March, but the policy has done little to slow rising fuel prices.
Petrol and diesel prices are displayed outside a BP petrol station on March 31, 2022 in Telford
(Getty Pictures)
Petrol prices soared 11p in May, the second biggest monthly rise on record, according to the RAC.
AA fuel price spokesman Luke Bosdet said “shock and awe” was the only way to describe “what happened at the pumps during the midterm break”.
“It’s no wonder that almost half of the drivers stayed home during the extended Jubilee holiday,” he added.
“The forces driving the surge were oil which rallied above US$120 a barrel for the first time since late March, combined with rising petroleum product prices from summer automotive demand.”
Additional reporting by Press Association.
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Source: www.independent.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-06-07 09:21:22
