With international conflict affecting Israel and Iran, RAC head of policy Simon Williams has warned that fuel prices could be on the rise.
Williams pointed to an increase of 1.5p in the average price of a litre of petrol in the past week, rising to 133.5p, and an increase in the price of diesel by 2p per litre to 140p.
He said: “Although the cost of a barrel of oil jumped by $5 to $74 straight after Israel’s 13 June attack on Iran, so far it hasn’t climbed much higher.
“It’s now at trading around $77 – $12 a barrel more expensive than it has been for the last three months – which is not yet enough to cause a major hike at the pumps.
“As retailer margins have been high for some time, the oil price rise has squeezed these to fairer levels for drivers.
“If, however, retailers are set on maintaining margins of around 12p a litre, we may well see the average price of fuel go up further.
“It’s also important to note that the oil price is a long way off the $137.72 seen in the early days of the Ukraine war in spring 2022 which led to average prices reaching record highs in the summer of 191.5p for petrol and 199p for diesel.”
