Fuel prices have jumped again, said the RAC.
The average price of petrol rose in July making for the second consecutive monthly increase while diesel remained stable, data from RAC Fuel Watch reveals.
A litre of unleaded across the UK now costs 145p, up a penny since the start of the month and nearly 2p since the beginning of June. Worryingly though, the wholesale price of petrol rose 6p a litre from 19 July on the back of the rising cost of oil with retailers wasting no time in passing this on to drivers as the average price has increased by nearly 2p in that time.
Diesel stayed the same at 146p (145.84p), ending a run of eight months of falling prices. This means filling a tank for a 55-litre family car costs around £80 for either fuel – £80.21 for diesel and £79.75 for petrol.
The price of oil went up by $10 a barrel in July, rising to $85.56 by the close of the month – a price not seen since mid-April.
This has caused the wholesale price of both fuels to increase – 7p for unleaded and nearly 9.5p for diesel.
The RAC’s analysis of the data shows this has led to a squeeze on previously inflated retailer margins. It is now waiting to see how quickly prices rise and whether the supermarkets, which dominate UK fuel retailing, will operate with smaller margins that are closer to their longer-term averages, or whether they look to make more per litre than they have historically.
It also believes further rises will come in as wholesale costs are going up again and a dismal winter lies ahead on UK roads.
myRAC is an app for mobiles which allows motorists to check the latest pump prices in their area.
Regional pump prices
Asda’s move this week to on-line price displays does not satisfy the RAC.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said, “While it’s good to see the supermarkets start to publish their pump prices, we don’t believe displaying them on websites will suddenly make retailers start charging fairer prices, particularly as free mobile apps such as myRAC can actually compare prices among all fuel retailers – large and small – wherever they are in the country.
“Real competition is the key, and this is something we are sadly lacking at the moment, other than in Northern Ireland where fuel is more than 4p a litre cheaper than the rest of the UK.
“We don’t believe we’re likely to see real change until we have an official price monitoring body, as recommended by the Competition and Markets Authority, that has the power to fine companies that don’t properly reflect significant downward wholesale market movements on their forecourts.”