Fuel Prices Jump in July with Further Rises Expected

The prices of petrol and diesel in the UK both rose in July after falling prices in June, as the RAC warned of further price hikes.

According to the latest data from RAC Fuel Watch, the price of petrol at the pumps increased by 1.55p to 129.21p a litre last month. The price of diesel also rose by 0.93p up to 131.95p a litre. However, the cost of fuel is still cheaper than it was at the beginning of June. The price of petrol in June fell by around 3p a litre to 127.62p, while diesel prices in June fell by 4.6p to 130.9p per litre.

The price of filling up a tank of petrol in the UK now costs an average of £71.07, compared to £70.21 at the beginning of July. Meanwhile, the average cost of a full tank of diesel now costs £72.57, a 51p rise compare to a month ago.

A major factor in the rising price of fuel has been the falling value of the pound against the dollar. Sterling fell by 3% over July – from $1.26 to $1.22 – after the government under new PM Boris Johnson has been increasing the threat of a no-deal Brexit on October 31. British drivers have also not been helped by the fact the wholesale price of oil jumped in July, hitting a peak of $67.41 on July 10 and closing the month at $63.97. And the RAC has warned that if oil was to rise to around $70 a barrel and the pound doesn’t rebound then UK drivers could soon be paying even more to fill their tanks.

“Sadly, July saw a return to rising pump prices making the respite of June all too brief,” said Simon Williams, a spokesperson for RAC. “While there were only relatively small rises in both petrol and diesel, the situation might have been far worse if the drop in the value of the pound doesn’t recover in the next few weeks.

“The price of a barrel of oil has been fluctuating between $60 and $70 since the end of May as traders can’t seem to be able to get a clear understanding of what’s happening with global demand. On the one hand there is talk of an economic slowdown in China and, on the other, concerns about supply due to the tanker hijacking issues in the Strait of Hormuz through which a third of the world’s sea-borne oil supply is shipped.

“Drivers can only hope we don’t see the nasty combination of a rising oil price and a falling pound. If we do, August could prove to be a very costly month on the UK’s roads. This could easily lead to petrol going above the 2019 high of 130.67p seen at the start of June and diesel exceeding the year’s high point of 135.54p at the end of May.”