Average price of petrol nears £1.60 per litre

Drivers have been hit by the average cost of a litre of petrol reaching a record of nearly £1.60.

Figures from data firm Experian Catalist show UK forecourts sold the fuel at an average price of 159.6p per litre on Wednesday, up 3.2p since Monday.

The average cost of a litre of diesel was 167.4p on Wednesday, following an increase of 5.1p from the start of the week.

Oil prices soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leading to higher wholesale costs for fuel retailers.

The price per barrel of Brent crude – the most commonly used way of measuring the UK’s oil price – reached 139 US dollars on Monday, which was its highest level in 14 years.

But the price plummeted to 109 US dollars on Wednesday.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “A tank of petrol is now almost £88 while diesel has now gone over £92.

“Diesel unfortunately appears to be on a clear path to £1.70 a litre.

“As this is an average price, drivers will be seeing some unbelievably high prices on forecourts as retailers pass on their increased wholesale costs.

“But there was a hint of better news yesterday on the wholesale market with substantial drops in both petrol and diesel which could lead, in a week or so, to a slight slowing in the daily pump price increases, and records being broken less frequently.”

Online fuel price comparison service PetrolPrices said it was used by 150,000 people on Wednesday.

That is a 10-fold increase since mid-February, demonstrating the rising number of people concerned about the cost of filling up.

The firm said several forecourts are charging £2 per litre for diesel.

The Federation of Wholesale Distributors has warned spiking fuel costs will cause the price of groceries and food in restaurants to rise.

The trade body told the BBC its members would pass on transportation costs to food industry customers.

“Food price inflation is already happening, but this is going to make it worse, because there’ll be charges passed on to customers and then obviously to end users as well,” chief executive James Bielby told the broadcaster.