Petrol prices rise for third month running

A tank of petrol is now £2 more expensive than it was at the start of January 2021, due to the third consecutive month of fuel price rises.

Petrol and diesel pumps at a filling station

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Petrol prices rose by another 3.5p a litre in January 2021, the third consecutive month of fuel price increases.

The steep rise in January alone added nearly £2 to the price of an average 55-litre tankful of unleaded.

Petrol now costs 120p a litre, the highest price since before the first coronavirus lockdown in March 2020.

How to find the cheapest petrol and diesel near you

RAC Fuel Watch reports that a 55-litre tank of unleaded is now £8 more expensive than the May 2020 low.

Diesel prices also rose by more than 3p a litre, meaning diesel now costs 123.4p a litre.

Surprisingly, it is supermarkets that are leading the increase in fuel prices, say RAC Fuel Watch experts.

Fuel prices at Asda were hiked more than 5p a litre during January, although its unleaded is still the cheapest in the country, at 115.9p a litre.

Supermarkets sell 60 percent of all fuel sold in the UK – and the recent rises mean it’s now only 3p-3.5p a litre cheaper to use one, compared to the 4p-4.5p saving back in December.

“The increase stems from $5 being added to price of a barrel of oil,” said RAC fuel spokesperson Simon Williams, “although this has been cushioned by the pound strengthening a little against the dollar.

“These latest fuel prices unfortunately show the power of oil production cuts in getting the barrel price back up from the floor at $13.21, when the impact of international travel restrictions first hit last April, to the $55 mark now.”

Mr Williams said eyes will be on the Chancellor in his March 2021 Budget “as to whether to pile further misery on drivers by raising fuel duty at a time when pump prices are on this rise and many household incomes are being squeezed as a result of the pandemic”.

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Richard Aucock
Richard Aucockhttps://www.richardaucock.co.uk/
Richard is director at Motoring Research. He has been with us since 2001, and has been a motoring journalist even longer. He won the IMCO Motoring Writer of the Future Award in 1996 and the acclaimed Sir William Lyons Award in 1998. Both awards are run by the Guild of Motoring Writers and Richard is currently vice chair of the world's largest organisation for automotive media professionals. Richard is also a juror and Steering Committee director for World Car Awards and the UK juror for the AUTOBEST awards.

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