What oil price rises mean for drivers at the pumps - RAC comment
Following news about soaring oil prices, RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “The average price of a litre of petrol has increased by 1.5p to 133.5p in the last week while diesel has gone up by 2p to 140p. Although the cost of a barrel of oil jumped by $5 to $74 straight after Israel’s 13 June attack on Iran, so far it hasn’t climbed much higher. It's now at trading around $77 - $12 a barrel more expensive than it has been for the last three months - which is not yet enough to cause a major hike at the pumps.
“As retailer margins have been high for some time, the oil price rise has squeezed these to fairer levels for drivers. If, however, retailers are set on maintaining margins of around 12p a litre, we may well see the average price of fuel go up further.
“It’s also important to note that the oil price is a long way off the $137.72 seen in the early days of the Ukraine war in spring 2022 which led to average prices reaching record highs in the summer of 191.5p for petrol and 199p for diesel."
