Petrol and diesel prices hit record high again - with signs the 'pain isn't over yet'

Petrol and diesel prices hit record high again - with signs the 'pain isn't over yet'
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Jamie  Micklethwaite

By Jamie Micklethwaite


Published: 24/05/2022

- 13:30

Updated: 14/02/2023

- 11:18

Retailers are accused of raising profit margins since the 5p per litre cut in fuel duty

Fuel prices continue to climb to record highs, figures show.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts was 167.7p on Monday.


That was up from 165.1p a week earlier.

The average price of diesel on Monday was 181.14p per litre, up from 179.7p last week.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak implemented a 5p per litre cut in fuel duty on March 23, two days after average prices were 166.8p per litre for petrol and 180.3p per litre for diesel.

File photo dated 01/09/21 of an E10 petrol pump at a petrol station. Petrol prices should be cut by as much as 3p a litre despite a 10% leap in wholesale costs since Christmas, according to new analysis. Issue date: Saturday January 22, 2022.
Petrol pump
Joe Giddens

Retailers have been accused of raising profit margins since the policy was introduced.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “This news means more financial frustration for drivers and businesses, not least the owners of the country’s 18 million petrol-powered cars, most of whom will be private individuals and families.

“Unfortunately, the signs are that the pain isn’t over yet.

Motorists queuing for fuel at a Morrisons petrol station in Reading, Berkshire, as diesel prices have soared to a new record high despite the cut in fuel duty, figures show.
Motorists queuing for fuel at a Morrisons petrol station in Reading, Berkshire, as diesel prices have soared to a new record high despite the cut in fuel duty, figures show.
Steve Parsons

“Wholesale petrol prices are still close to recent highs and currently exceed those of diesel.

“As many people are looking anxiously at the prospect of ever higher bills to heat and light their homes, so too an increasing number of families are facing transport poverty.

“For most drivers, in the short term, there is little option but to grit their teeth and pay up.

“Even if they could afford them, the waiting time for new cars, including electric ones, can stretch to many months, and the used market is buoyant, meaning the scope to upgrade the family run-around for something more economical may be extremely limited.”

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