‘Hellish month’ for motorists sees fuel prices soar

Britain’s drivers endured the steepest monthly rise in petrol prices for 18 years last month, RAC Fuel Watch data shows.

The cost of unleaded petrol jumped by almost 6p a litre from 123.43p to 129.41p in May, in what the RAC called a “hellish” month for motorists.

And the price of diesel went up by even more, with a 6.12p-a-litre increase taking average prices up from 126.27p a litre to 132.39p.

The RAC calculates that the cost of filling up a 55-litre family car rocketed to £71.18 in May – that’s a rise of £3.29 in a single month.

As usual, there were marked variations in fuel price rises across different types of outlets.

At the cheaper end of the scale, the big four supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons – raised petrol by 5.49p a litre and diesel by 5.88p a litre in May.

But there were bigger hikes at motorway service stations, which added 6.37p to unleaded, making it an eye-watering 144.75p a litre.

And diesel at motorway service stations cost an average of 147.80p a litre at the end of last month.

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Simon Williams, the RAC’s fuel spokesman, said motorists have been “besieged” by pump prices over the last three months.

“The rising oil price together with a weaker pound is a punitive combination for anyone that drives regularly,” he said.

“For many people there is little alternative to the car for the majority of journeys they have to make, so it is therefore very difficult to avoid feeling the pinch of rising pump prices.”

Oil prices passed the $80-a-barrel mark in May but have since fallen back a little to around $75 a barrel.

This could offer a glimmer of hope that prices at the petrol pump may come down in the weeks and months ahead.