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| Petrol and diesel prices reach new record high | Petrol and diesel prices reach new record high |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Fuel prices have hit a new record high at the pump across the UK, tightening the squeeze on UK consumers, the motoring organisation the AA has said. | Fuel prices have hit a new record high at the pump across the UK, tightening the squeeze on UK consumers, the motoring organisation the AA has said. |
| Over the weekend petrol reached 148.02p a litre, while diesel hit a new record high of 151.57p a litre last Thursday. | Over the weekend petrol reached 148.02p a litre, while diesel hit a new record high of 151.57p a litre last Thursday. |
| Fuel previously hit a record in November, before wholesale and retail prices fell back. | Fuel previously hit a record in November, before wholesale and retail prices fell back. |
| "The cost of living crisis has been ratcheted up yet another notch," said Luke Bosdet of the AA. | "The cost of living crisis has been ratcheted up yet another notch," said Luke Bosdet of the AA. |
| The RAC's fuel spokesman Simon Williams said the price of filling a 55-litre family car was now an "eye-watering" £81.41. | The RAC's fuel spokesman Simon Williams said the price of filling a 55-litre family car was now an "eye-watering" £81.41. |
| "With the oil price teetering on the brink of $100 a barrel and retailers keen to pass on the increase in wholesale fuel quickly, new records could now be set on a daily basis in the coming weeks," he said. | "With the oil price teetering on the brink of $100 a barrel and retailers keen to pass on the increase in wholesale fuel quickly, new records could now be set on a daily basis in the coming weeks," he said. |
| Surging food prices push inflation to 30-year high | |
| What is the UK's inflation rate and why is the cost of living going up? | |
| Fuel prices at the pump are driven largely by the wholesale price of energy which has shot up due to tensions over whether Russia will invade Ukraine. | |
| On Monday, oil prices hit their highest level since 2014, reaching $95.56 a barrel. | |
| If the situation in Ukraine deteriorates, oil and gas supplies from Russia to Europe may be interrupted, pushing up wholesale prices further. | |
| The supply of oil and gas has already struggled to keep up with growing demand as the global economy picked up in recent months as Covid restrictions eased. | |
| The RAC's Mr Williams said: "On a positive note, retailer margins - which were the reason drivers paid overly high prices in December and January - have now returned to more normal levels of around 7p a litre." | |
| He said the big four supermarkets, which dominate fuel sales, should "play fair" with drivers by keeping their profit margins low. | |
| Day-to-day prices for food, household bills and other items such as used cars, have risen sharply in recent months, in part due to rising energy prices. | |
| UK inflation is now at a 30-year high of 5.4%. New inflation figures for January will be released by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday. | |
| Mr Bosdet said the AA had surveyed 15,000 of its members after prices spiked at the end of last year and found higher fuel prices were leading 43% of them to cut back on the amount they used their car as well as other areas of spending. |