Only 11 supermarkets are charging below 140p a litre for petrol, the AA saysPetrol prices highest since November 2023, just shy of 150p a litreA of spring fuel efficiency savings wiped out in a month - and tough year ahead
The AA's Fuel Price Report has revealed that almost a quarter (23.8 per cent) of forecourts are already charging more than 150p a litre.
Yesterday, the AA warned that the average cost of a litre of petrol was teetering on the edge of 150p, having risen by nearly 10p per litre so far this year.
But many motorists are already be paying more than this to re-fuel, the AA found in its survey of forecourts across the UK.
The AA studied pump price data across 2910 supermarket and non-supermarket forecourts, only to discover that 693 forecourts were already pricing their petrol above 150p a litre this week.
Amid rising fuel prices - petrol is currently at a five-month high of 149.2p and diesel at 157.7p a litre - motorists are wanting to pick the cheapest place to fill up. But the AA discovered just 11 supermarkets are charging less than 140p/litre
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Towns lucky to have supermarket petrol available at less than 140p a litre on Monday were few and far between: Coleraine (Northern Ireland), Beeston, Huddersfield, Wolverhampton, Limavady (NI), Londonderry (NI), Banbridge (NI), Antrim (NI) and Bramley (near Guildford).
Analysis of Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) pump price data at the start of this week found that only 11 supermarket stations are currently offering petrol at less than 140p a litre.
Two pump price indicators - CMA and Government data - show that average petrol prices have jumped by around 3.7p a litre in the past month while diesel has increased by around 3.3p.
The average cost of petrol is currently at a five-month high of 149.2p, according to Government data.
This compares to 140.8p at the start of the year, while average pump prices for diesel have increased to 157.7p a litre.
This is the first time since February 2023 that drivers are worse off than they were at the same time in the previous year – even if petrol averaged above 150p a litre in November.
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The fuel efficiency of a car changes with the time of year. In winter, cars are thirstier. In summer, their efficiency is better. In winter, petrol traditionally becomes cheaper outside the US summer motoring season. That normally offsets some of the higher cost from cars using more fuel.
Last spring, petrol was on a downward track and significantly less expensive than in the spring of 2022. That and getting more miles to the gallon provided a double benefit to improve the fortunes of motorists considerably - but this spring that's looking to be far from the case.
What should be cheaper spring motoring, is being reined back by rising pump prices.
Luke Bosdet, the AA's spokesman on pump prices, said: 'The 10p-a-litre surge in the price of petrol since the start of the year, with more than a third coming within the last four weeks alone, is not where UK motoring consumers wanted to be.
'They hoped that their road fuel fortunes had at last turned a corner on to the straight, not suffered a U-turn.'
The increase in fuel price was due to an increase in oil prices. The cost of a barrel of Brent Crude oil currently sits at just below $91 compared to $75 at the start of the year, its highest point since last October.
RAC fuel price spokesperson Simon Williams says: 'With increased tensions in the Middle East, the cost of oil is only likely to go up which could push petrol well above 150p a litre.'