UK petrol price makes biggest daily jump in 17 years

The price of petrol at UK forecourts has made its biggest daily jump in 17 years as a litre of petrol cost an average of 180.73p on Tuesday (7), jumping by 2.23 pence per litre, the biggest one-day increase seen since the early 2000s.

The RAC motoring group said the average cost of filling a typical family car with petrol was now £99.40 and could exceed £100 as soon as Thursday (9).

RAC fuel spokesperson Simon Williams said the accelerating costs of forecourt fuel was “unprecedented”, adding it appeared prices were “still some way from the peak”.

Meanwhile, the average price of diesel rose by almost 1.5p to another record high of 186.57p per litre, making the cost of filling a 55-litre family car £102.61.

In March, the government announced a 5p per litre cut to fuel duty to help reduce costs for motorists.

However, motoring groups have raised concerns retailers are not passing on the cut to customers, calling on the government to make a “radical intervention” to cushion the cost at the pumps.

The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, wrote to forecourt retailers last month “to remind them of their responsibilities” to pass on tax cuts to motorists.

He said it was “unacceptable that different locations even within the same retail chain have widely different prices”.

Soaring fuel prices have been driven by the war in Ukraine and moves to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian oil. Russia is one of the world’s major oil exporters and it is being targeted by economic and trading sanctions, which has led to potential supply concerns, pushing up oil prices.

With food and energy bills also surging, many households are under pressure.