Fuel prices are ‘pump fiction’, says AA president

Fuel prices have been described as “pump fiction” as they fail to reflect wholesale prices.

AA president Edmund King said the Government must step in to lower prices, stating that drivers face an “urgent situation”.

Figures from data firm Experian show the average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts reached a new high of 191.1p on Monday, up by a fraction of a penny from Sunday.

Prices have continued to rise despite the wholesale cost of petrol being around 5p per litre cheaper than early June peaks.

The wholesale cost of diesel has stabilised in recent days.

But average pump prices of the fuel reached a record 199.1p per litre on Saturday, falling slightly to 199.0p per litre on Monday.

In a nod to Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 dark comedy/crime film Pulp Fiction, Mr King said: “Pump prices are now more like ‘pump fiction’ as they don’t reflect the general downward trends we have been seeing in wholesale prices.

“This is now an urgent situation.

“The Prime Minister has hinted at action but we need more than hints.

“Pressure to force price transparency and a cut in duty would be a step in the right direction.”

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “We strongly hope pump prices have peaked for the time being and will now start to decrease in line with wholesale prices which reduced last week.

“That, however, is in the hands of retailers.”

A 5p per litre reduction in fuel duty implemented by the Treasury in March has not stopped pump prices from soaring.

Earlier this month, the Competition and Markets Authority launched a “short and focused review” of how much drivers are being charged for fuel after a request by Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng.