Diesel went up by more than 3p a litre from 120.05p to 123.43p in January, making for the second rise in as many months, data from RAC Fuel Watch reveals.

The price of petrol, meanwhile, rose by 3.5p to 120p a litre – a price last seen the day before the first lockdown on March 22, 2020, and the third consecutive monthly increase.

Both fuels, however, are still around 7p a litre cheaper than they were a year ago.

At these prices a full 55-litre tank of unleaded will set drivers back £66 which is nearly £2 (£1.92) more than at the start of January. The diesel equivalent is £67.89 – up £1.86. Compared to the May 2020 low of 105.81p for petrol, a complete fill-up is now around £8 more expensive and diesel nearly £7 (111.23p a litre on 21 May 2020).

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “The increase stems from $5 being added to price of a barrel of oil although this has been cushioned by the pound strengthening a little against the dollar.

“One thing’s for sure prices are nowhere near the lows we saw in late May when petrol was just under 106p a litre and was diesel 111p.”

The hike appears to have been led by the supermarkets which are extremely influential in retail fuel pricing, currently selling 60% of all fuel sold in the UK.

Asda added more than 5p a litre to petrol taking the average price across all its sites to 115.13p. While this was the biggest rise its unleaded is still the cheapest available at a supermarket, although Sainsbury’s is not far behind at 115.87p a litre.

Asda also has the lowest priced diesel at 118.16p, with Sainsbury’s at 118.81p.

As a result of all four of the big supermarkets raising their fuel prices by around 4p a litre, it’s now only 3-3.5p cheaper to buy at their sites compared to the UK average. However, this is a penny less than it was in December when it was 4-4.5p cheaper to buy at a supermarket.

Williams continued: “These latest fuel prices unfortunately show the power of oil production cuts in getting the barrel price back up from the floor at $13.21, when the impact of international travel restrictions first hit last April, to the $55 mark now.

“Eyes will now be on the Chancellor who will face a difficult decision at his Budget next month as to whether to pile further misery on drivers by raising fuel duty at a time when pump prices are on this rise and many household incomes are being squeezed as a result of the pandemic.”

Regional pump prices compared

Diesel	03/01/2021	31/01/2021	Change
UK average	120.05	123.43	3.38
East	120.90	124.44	3.54
East Midlands	120.19	123.51	3.32
London	120.42	124.16	3.74
North East	119.01	122.44	3.43
North West	119.51	122.94	3.43
Northern Ireland	115.50	118.25	2.75
Scotland	119.48	123.08	3.60
South East	121.42	124.79	3.37
South West	120.28	123.59	3.31
Wales	119.59	122.80	3.21
West Midlands	120.06	123.26	3.20
Yorkshire And The Humber	119.44	122.78	3.34

 

Unleaded	03/01/2021	31/01/2021	Change
UK average	116.51	120.00	3.49
East	117.25	120.66	3.41
East Midlands	116.32	119.79	3.47
London	117.65	121.14	3.49
North East	115.22	118.84	3.62
North West	116.23	119.10	2.87
Northern Ireland	112.22	115.89	3.67
Scotland	115.44	119.48	4.04
South East	117.63	121.23	3.60
South West	116.82	119.99	3.17
Wales	114.95	118.93	3.98
West Midlands	115.98	119.69	3.71
Yorkshire And The Humber	115.81	119.15	3.34