Petrol and diesel prices keep rising

Motoring and Travel

Updated on 26 January 2012 | 6 Comments

Wholesale costs are pushing pump prices up and worse could follow with UK refinery in administration and tensions in Iran.

Petrol and diesel prices have continued to rise and there are reports of panic buying at some petrol stations after one of the UK’s biggest refineries went into administration.

Figures from fuel price comparison website PetrolPrices.com show the average price of unleaded petrol across the UK was 134.03p a litre on Tuesday. The average price of diesel was 142.32p a litre, taking it ever closer to last May’s all-time record of 143.04p.

And separate figures from data company Experian Catalist show prices on Tuesday averaging 133.90p a litre for petrol and 142.26p a litre for diesel.

Supermarkets have already raised their pump prices, although they claim this is due to higher wholesale costs.

The Coryton refinery in Essex stopped deliveries after its parent company, Swiss oil refiner Petroplus, announced it was insolvent. It has now restarted supplies after a deal was struck.

However, motoring groups have warned that the price of diesel could spiral if disruption continues. Coryton supplies around 20% of the fuel for the south east of England.

The Government has asked drivers not to panic buy petrol and says contingency plans are in place to supply fuel from other refineries.

Earlier this month, the Retail Motoring Industry Federation forecast that the cost of diesel could rise as high as 145p per litre.

Unleaded petrol has risen from an average of 132.54p in mid-December, while diesel has risen from 141.5p.

Tensions in Iran, which could disrupt the supply of oil, and the strong dollar could also push pump prices up higher.

More: How to find the cheapest diesel and petrol | Five ways to cut the cost of motoring

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