The RAC has issued what it described as an “ominous” warning on Tuesday, as UK motorists brace themselves for yet another rise in petrol and diesel prices. The rocket-fuelled surge seen over the past two months, following the outbreak of fresh conflict in the Middle East, had begun to ease in recent weeks — though prices remain far above those seen before the substantial gains recorded over that period.
Oil price spikes triggered by the war in the wake of US and Israeli strikes on Iran at the end of February sent costs soaring, with petrol climbing around 20p per litre above pre-war levels and diesel rising by approximately 50p, adding a considerable sum to the cost of a full tank.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “April proved to be a month of two halves for fuel prices. The first half saw pump prices climb ever higher, with petrol rising nearly 5p to an average of 158.31p on April 15 and diesel by more than 7p to 191.54p.
“But, more positively for drivers, the second half of the month saw them drop back slightly, with petrol coming down over a penny and diesel 3p by the end of April. Interestingly, we note that prices in Northern Ireland reduced more quickly compared to the UK averages, with unleaded coming down by almost 4p and diesel by nearly 10p a litre.”
However, Mr Williams cautioned that the situation could be about to shift as May gets under way.
He added: “The outlook for the first couple of weeks of May, however, is more ominous. Wholesale petrol and diesel prices jumped by around 5p a litre last week and are now at their highest since the war began.
“This hasn’t yet been reflected at the pumps – petrol is up by just a fraction of a penny so far this month and diesel has continued to slowly drift downwards.
“But if oil prices, and in turn wholesale fuel prices, remain at elevated levels over the coming weeks, then future price rises at forecourts are all but inevitable. We urge drivers to continue to shop around for fuel and make good use of free apps such as myRAC to ensure they never pay any more than they need to when they fill up.”