Petrol and diesel prices went up by 3p a litre last month – the highest level for 18 months
The cost of filling a family car went up £1.60 in December, according to new data
PETROL and diesel prices rose by around 3p a litre last month taking them to their highest average prices since July 2015.
Recent data shows that unleaded petrol prices hit 117.23p a litre on 29 December, 2.99p more than at the beginning of the month.
Diesel prices went up by 3.07p over the month, from 116.56p on December 4th to 119.63p on December 29th.
The figures, from the RAC, show that the increased cost of fuel meant filling up an average 55-litre family car with petrol rose by £1.60 last month, from £62.83 to £64.48, and for diesel from £64.11 to £65.80.
Looking at fuel prices for the entire year of 2016, unleaded went up 14.5p a litre, while the cost of diesel increased by 13.64p from 105.99p a litre, from January to December.
As a result, it now costs £8 more for a tank of petrol than it did at the same time last year, and £10 more for diesel.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “The rising oil price is bad news for motorists as it caused a nasty jump in pump prices in the most expensive month of the year.
“While forecourt prices rose by 3p a litre in December, they didn’t rocket as others had forecast. The big question now is how much further are they likely to go up, particularly in the long January wait to the next payday."
The RAC said that the price rises are purely down to the announcement at the end of November that OPEC and non-OPEC countries would be cutting oil production this month, meaning there will be less supply to the market.
Mr Williams added: “We are optimistic that prices will not increase by another 3p a litre in January based on what’s going on with oil and wholesale fuel now, but if in the months ahead the barrel price was to get nearer to $60 and the pound was to weaken further then that would be the worst possible combination for motorists.
Three ways to cut down your fuel costs
1. Make your car more fuel-efficient. You can do this by keeping your tyres inflated, taking the roof rack off, emptying your car of clutter and turning off your air con when driving at lower speeds.
2. Drive more efficiently. Some ways to do this, include:
- Accelerate gradually without over-revving
- Always drive on the highest possible gear
- If you can, allow your car to slow down naturally as your brake is a money burner
- Re-starting your car is expensive, if you can keep moving
3. Find the cheapest fuel prices. Use PetrolPrices.com. All you need to do is enter in your postcode and tell it how far you want to travel (up to 20 miles).
Regional fuel price variation
By the end of December, Northern Ireland was the cheapest place to buy petrol, with the average price of a litre of unleaded selling for 115.58p.
The south east remained the most expensive region for both petrol and diesel, with the average litre of unleaded costing 117.84p and diesel 120.28p.
According to separate research today by PetrolPrices.com, drivers in Scotland and Devon paid around £200 extra for petrol last year.
It cost them around 20p per litre more than in parts of the UK where it is cheapest.
Two petrol stations in Argyll, Scotland, charged an average of £1.25 per litre, while in Woolacombe, Devon, it was almost £1.23 per litre.
But in Tilbury, Essex — the cheapest in the UK — it cost around £1.04.
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