Drivers ‘unfortunate casualties’ of oil price rise as petrol hits six-month high

Petrol prices have reached a six-month high, according to new analysis.

The RAC said the average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts rose by 0.65p in February to 139.65p.

It attributed this primarily to higher wholesale costs earlier in the year, driven by an increase in the price of oil, which climbed to 82 US dollars a barrel in mid-January.

The average price of a litre of diesel went up by 0.73p last month to 146.48p, a price last seen in late August 2024.

The rise in wholesale costs was largely caused by greater demand in the northern hemisphere because of a cold snap, along with concerns about possible supply disruption ahead of the presidency changeover in the US.

“Motorists were the unfortunate casualties of rising wholesale prices through January, not helped by global oil prices hitting the 82 dollars a barrel mark in the middle of the month.

“But we hope better times are on the horizon. With wholesale fuel costs falling throughout February, there’s a good prospect petrol and diesel prices will come down this month as retailers buy fresh stock at lower prices.

“As always, it really does pay to shop around because pump prices at supermarket sites vary by as much as 13p a litre.”