Petrol prices rise for a second month running
Wed, 09 Aug 2023
Average petrol prices rose again in July 2023, making it the second month in a row that the price of unleaded edged upwards.
RAC Fuel Watch says the average price of a litre of unleaded is now 145p, which is up nearly 2p a litre since the start of June.
Diesel prices remained stable, at 146p a litre, although this did end a run of eight months of falling prices.
The cost of filling the average 55-litre family car fuel tank is now around £80 for each fuel: £79.75 for petrol and £80.21 for diesel.
The RAC is now predicting further increases in the price of petrol and diesel, due to the price of a barrel of oil going up $10 in July alone.
This is a price that hasn’t been seen since April, and means the wholesale price of unleaded has gone up 7p a litre, while diesel has gone up 9.5p a litre.
RAC Fuel Watch experts are now waiting to see how quickly these price rises are passed on to consumers.
“July marks a turning point for fuel prices,” said RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams, “but more concerning is the fact that oil has gone back up to $85 a barrel, causing wholesale prices to rise significantly.
“It feels like the better times at the pump are over for the time being. If oil producers continue to curb production, then bigger forecourt price rises could be on the cards.”
While fuel retailer margins have been squeezed, they were too large anyway, said Williams.
“The big question now is how quickly and how far pump prices rise.
“We sincerely hope we won’t see them shoot up like the proverbial rocket as this would indicate the Competition and Markets Authority’s fuel market investigation findings and recommendations have not had an immediate impact.
“Encouragingly, there has so far been very little upward movement from the bug four supermarkets, but only time will tell.”
Should I buy a diesel when I only do 5000 miles a year?
