LONDON (The Guardian) - Fuel prices on forecourts hit a record high on Monday, piling further pressure on motorists and businesses and adding to the soaring inflation at the heart of the UK’s cost of living crisis.
Petrol reached 149.12p a liter, meaning it would cost £81.95 to fill a 55-litre family car, while diesel also reached a record at 152.6p, making a similar-sized full tank almost £84.
“The relentless rising price of fuel is hurting households up and down the country, furthering the cost of living crisis,” said the RAC fuel spokesperson, Simon Williams.
A barrel of Brent crude was up 0.6% to $94 (£69) on Monday, helping push fuel prices beyond the record set a week ago.
However, the RAC accused big forecourt operators of needlessly inflating prices for motorists.
“While the price of oil is still close to $100 a barrel, wholesale fuel prices don’t merit further retailer rises across the board at the pumps,” Williams said.
“We realize that smaller retailers who don’t buy fuel as frequently will be hit by higher wholesale costs but the biggest retailers who buy all the time shouldn’t currently be increasing their forecourt prices. We urge them to play fair with drivers at this difficult time.