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Petrol price rises: average cost of filling a car up £9 in June

A car is filled with petrol at a filling station, in Knutsford, Cheshire, Britain, March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Carl Recine
Filling a typical 55-litre family petrol car cost around £105 in June. Photo: Carl Recine/Reuters (Carl Recine / reuters)

June saw a new record set for the rise in the cost of a litre of petrol in a single month, adding £9 to the cost of filling up.

RAC analysis shows the average cost of a litre of the fuel at UK forecourts rose by 16.6p last month, from 174.8p to 191.4p. That is the highest monthly increase in records dating back to 2000.

The surge in prices added more than £9 to the cost of filling a typical 55-litre family petrol car, which is now at £105.29.

Average diesel prices rose by 15.6p per litre, ending the month at 199.1p. This makes the cost of a tank £109.48, £8.59 more than the start of the month.

Read more: UK firms planning further price hikes as inflation bites

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“To put things in perspective, average unleaded prices are now 26.84p per litre higher than they were the day after March’s fuel duty cut was announced (164.59p on 24 March), making the cost of a full tank nearly £15 (£14.77) more expensive,” RAC said.

Watch: Protesters block motorway in stand against cost of fuel

The organisation’s fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “The rate at which pump prices have been rising over the last four weeks is hard to comprehend.

“Not a day in June went by when petrol prices didn’t go up, even though the price retailers pay to buy in fuel went down.

“There’s no doubt that drivers are getting an incredibly raw deal at the pumps at a time when the cost-of-living crisis is being felt ever more acutely.”

Pump price of unleaded petrol (average per litre). Infographic PA Graphics
Pump price of unleaded petrol (average per litre). Infographic PA Graphics (Press Association Images)

The RAC said higher pump prices were expected at the start of June due to the cost of oil rising in response to increased demand and continued supply concerns relating to the war in Ukraine.

But five consecutive weeks of falling wholesale costs have not been reflected at the pumps.

Retailers have doubled their average profit margins from a long-term figure of around 6p per litre to 12p per litre, according to the RAC.

Williams added: “The silence from the Treasury when it comes to supporting drivers through this time of record high pump prices is, frankly, deafening.

Read more: Travel chaos: BA to cancel flights for 100,000 passengers in July

“Perhaps it has something do with the fact that it’s benefiting significantly from the increased VAT revenue caused by the high prices.

“We badly need the Government to go beyond just vague words and instead actually implement a clear package of financial support to show they’re on the side of drivers.”

Twelve people were arrested on Monday as dozens of campaigners calling for another cut in duty targeted the M4 in South Wales and Somerset, and stretches of the M5 from Devon to Bristol, with rolling go-slow roadblocks in the morning rush-hour.

Watch: Several Arrests as Fuel-Price Protesters Snarl Up UK Traffic