Petrol prices race past 150p-a-litre: where can you now find the cheapest fuel?

Filling up at the pump has become much pricier in the past month, with average petrol prices rising above the 150p-a-litre mark for the first time since early January, AA data shows.

The average unleaded price is now 150.1p-a-litre while diesel has jumped to 152.41p, further stretching budgets amid the cost-of-living crisis.

Last month, petrol and diesel cost 143.61p and 151.63p per litre respectively, meaning the cost of filling up a 55-litre car tank with petrol has risen by more than £3, now costing over £82.

Pump pain: Unleaded prices have gone past 150p-a-litre for the first time in more than eight months

On average, Sainsbury’s now has the lowest cost for both petrol and diesel. 

Its petrol prices rose by the least of any brand, jumping by 4.11p to 143.88p per litre over the past month.

The retailer has overtaken Asda, which was the cheapest place to fill up last month and has historically seen the best prices. Its petrol costs have risen to 145.37p – or nearly nearly 5p-a-litre.

The supermarket recently became the first to start publishing its live fuel price data, allowing customers to track prices across UK forecourts and hunt down the best prices.

Shell’s prices have jumped the most, by over 7p per litre, becoming the most expensive place to fill up.

The price rises have followed soaring petrol and diesel wholesale costs, which began increasing on 17 July, leading pump prices to follow.

Fuel costs vary across the UK – drivers in the South East are paying the most for their petrol and diesel, while in Northern Ireland, petrol prices are as much as 5p per litre cheaper.

With the Competition and Markets Authority launching its voluntary scheme by the end of August calling for retailers to publish their pump prices, it should soon become easier to compare prices at different forecourts.

‘Wholesale cost increases appear to have peaked for the moment but the fallout from the recent surge is still finding its way to the pumps,’ says Luke Bosdet, the AA’s spokesman on pump prices.

‘It is still possible to find fuel stations offering fuel at 4p-5p a litre cheaper than most. The problem is knowing where they are.

‘Cue the CMA’s voluntary scheme for retailers to register their pump prices on their websites for each of their forecourts. This should be up and running shortly. 

‘The question is how many retailer brands have signed up?’

Retailers are pushing prices higher on the back of rising oil and wholesale costs.

The wholesale price of petrol rose by 6p last month due to the higher cost of a barrel of oil, which jumped by $10 in July.

Oil rose from around $74 a barrel at the start of the month to $85.56 by 31 July – and remains around the same level today.

This is the highest oil price posted since the mid-April.

For British drivers the situation is exacerbated by the pound having fallen against the US dollar since mid-July, declining from a recent peak of $1.31 to $1.27.

This is causing ‘wholesale prices to rise significantly’, according to the RAC’s fuel price expert, Simon Williams, who added that retailers are ‘wasting no time in passing this on to drivers.’

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk