Yahoo Finance Rise in petrol and diesel prices breaks records despite Sunak's 5p fuel duty cut
The cost of filling a family car with petrol was a third higher in March than it was a year ago as drivers were hit by the largest monthly spike in pump prices on record.
Filling up a diesel car costs 40% more now and chancellor Rishi Sunak’s 5p fuel duty cut has done little to help drivers.
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The RAC said the average cost of a litre of petrol in the UK rose by 11.6p to end March at 163.3p. That is the largest ever increase the RAC has recorded in a single month.
The previous biggest monthly increase was in October of last year when petrol prices rose by just over 7p per litre.
It now costs nearly £90 to fill a 55-litre family petrol car, £6.38 more than it did at the start of the month.
Diesel prices rose even more sharply, up 22.1p per litre to 177.3p. This was three times the size of that recorded in May 2008, the previous worst month for diesel price rises, when the cost of a litre went up by around 8p per litre.
The RAC said the rise in pump prices was driven by surging wholesale costs caused by the war in Ukraine and drivers would have been hit by even higher prices without the cut in fuel duty.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “March 2022 will go down in the history books as one of the worst months ever when it comes to pump prices.
“Without question, these figures show in the starkest possible terms just how much fuel prices are contributing to the cost-of-living crisis which will be affecting households up and down the country.
“Drivers might well be feeling aggrieved that the chancellor’s ‘historic’ fuel duty cut announced in the spring statement just two weeks ago has done nothing to protect them from price increases.
Read more: Pump price savings still fall short despite Sunak’s fuel duty cut
“The fact pump prices have fallen so little reflects the fact that the cost to retailers of buying fuel had been going up ahead of the spring statement.
“Sadly this Easter, traditionally the biggest getaway time of the year on the roads, is shaping up to be the costliest on record for drivers and there’s very little they can do to escape the high cost of filling up.”
Last month’s increases came despite Chancellor Rishi Sunak implementing a 5p per litre cut in fuel duty on March 23.
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