Petrol prices surge more than 10p per litre in a month
May was the second highest rise on record, and average tank of diesel now more than £100
The price of petrol increased by more than 10p per litre in May, despite the Government’s 5p-a-litre fuel duty cut brought in at the end of March.
The price of a litre of unleaded rose from 162.87p at the start of the month to 174.02p by the end, data from the RAC’s Fuel Watch shows.
This was second to the biggest rise on record, back in March. This saw a litre of petrol jump by 11.61p from 151.67p to 163.28p.
Diesel prices also climbed to new heights in May, with a litre going up to 183p, a hike of more than 5p.
This took the cost of the average full tank of diesel above £100 for the first time ever, the data revealed. A full tank of petrol also hit the landmark cost of £95.
The RAC said that since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February the price of petrol has gone up 24p a litre, and 30p for diesel.
“Both of these figures would have been even higher had the Government not cut fuel duty,” RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said.
This has been driven by the rise in the wholesale price of oil. This rise has gone from $106.07 (£85.07) to a late May high of $124.45 (£99.79) – a 17% increase.
Mr Williams added: “May has proved to be another horrible month for drivers with the average price of petrol shooting up by more than 10p a litre.”
“While it’s hard to imagine prices getting much worse, the wholesale price of petrol has now gone above diesel which spells yet more bad news at the pumps in the coming weeks.”
Drivers of electric vehicles have also been dramatically impacted by soaring energy costs. Earlier this week it was revealed that the cost of using an ultra-rapid EV charger has increased by almost 50% in just eight months, a 16.76p per kWh increase.
As well as this, the price of using a rapid charger has risen by a fifth, from £18.81 to £22.81.