Diesel prices up 10p a litre in a month

Motorists have suffered a fresh blow as diesel prices have increased by 10p per litre in the last month, pushing the cost of filling up the average diesel car past £100.

The cost of a litre of diesel rose to 190.49p at the end of October, after starting the month at 180.37p, according to the RAC motoring group. It described the increase as “significant”, with a family-sized diesel car now costing on average £104.77 to fill up.

Petrol prices have also risen by 4p a litre, adding pressure to already-strained family budgets. Over the same period, petrol prices increased from 162.67p to 166.54p, and filling up a family petrol car now costs £91.60 on average.

Diesel and petrol costs hit an all-time high this summer as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, but had since dropped back. Despite the consistent fall in fuel prices, major supermarkets have resisted passing on these reductions to their customers, experts said.

According to the RAC, supermarkets ordinarily offer petrol and diesel at a rate of around 4p a litre cheaper than the UK average, however the current rate for petrol is only 1.2p cheaper per litre and 3p a litre cheaper for diesel.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: “Over the summer, the price of petrol fell, the average wholesale price of petrol fell every week for eight weeks. But the supermarkets are extremely resistant in cutting their prices and therefore the UK average didn’t fall as much as it should have done.

“We had a very strange situation where lots of independent smaller retailers were outpricing, selling cheaper fuel than the big four supermarkets which is something I haven’t really seen before.”

Mr Williams said the decision by Opec+, the group of oil producing nations, to cut the supply by two million barrels a day had added to fuel woes. Supply cuts combined with a general move away from Russian diesel in the UK and a low exchange rate has caused a huge jump in the price of fuel for consumers this year, he said.

Mr Williams said: “I think high prices are definitely here for the longer term, unfortunately, as long as there’s a war in Ukraine.”