Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsbury's drivers issued £75 warning and 'question is what happens now'
Petrol and diesel drivers have been warned as fuel costs spike to £1.50 per litre with fears prices could rise further. Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury's drivers, as well as BP, Texaco, Shell and Esso motorists, have been warned the latest data from the RAC Fuel Price Checker shows prices have risen £1.50 a litre for the first time since November.
Owners of petrol vehicles will fork out an average of 150.06p per litre for unleaded, while diesel costs around 158.3p. Simon Williams, fuel spokesperson for the RAC, lamented the fact that prices have risen by more than 3p per litre since the start of the month and 9p since January.
This has added £1.65 to the average cost in the last few weeks and more than £5 to the average tank over the last four months. He said: "There are two reasons for this – the rise in the cost of oil and a weakening pound, which makes it more expensive when retailers come to buy new fuel supply.
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“The big question is what happens now. While the Middle East tensions saw oil hit the $90 (£72.60) a barrel mark, prices have since eased a little which is starting to translate into lower wholesale prices for UK retailers. In theory at least, this should mean prices at the pumps don’t rise much further, if at all – but so much depends on the margin these same retailers decide to take."
Luke Bosdet, AA fuel price spokesperson, said: "Government data shows that for the fourth week petrol prices have been higher than at the same time a year ago. This last happened in February 2023. Five days of falling wholesale costs, with the value of oil coming off the boil, offers hope that pump prices may not get much worse in the short-term.
“However, road fuel priced above 150p a litre grabs the attention of drivers and will lead some to re-tighten their belts on other spending.”