Petrol prices rise by 5p over a week as Iran war sends oil higher
A litre of unleaded now costs 167.17p which is the biggest weekly increase since April, data shows.
Petrol prices rise by 5p over a week as Iran war sends oil higher
The average cost of unleaded petrol has climbed by 5p a litre in just one week, according to the RAC, which said there was "no sign of any relief" for drivers.
The motoring organisation said unleaded now costs 167.17p a litre - the biggest weekly rise since April - while diesel has also gone up by 5p to 188.63p.
Fuel prices have surged since the US-Israel war with Iran began at the end of February, with the conflict badly disrupting crude oil supplies - a key ingredient in petrol and diesel - across the Middle East.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, has risen back to $100 a barrel for the first time since July as the fighting intensified again.
On Tuesday, US forces hit five Iranian tankers after Tehran targeted one of its warships, while Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement also attacked oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.
Brent is still well below the $120 it reached in April, but remains far above the $70 it was trading at before the conflict began.
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said the latest fuel price rise showed how exposed UK drivers can be to events thousands of miles away.
He added that the 5p-a-litre increase meant filling a family-sized car had cost £2.75 more over the past week.
"Drivers are having to dig ever deeper into their pockets every time they fill up, and there's no sign of any relief yet," said Dennis.
"With the cost of a barrel of oil having averaged $96 for the last week, wholesale prices are surging and that's already feeding through to prices at the forecourt."
He urged motorists to drive as efficiently as possible and to make sure they find the cheapest forecourts they can.
The last time petrol was this expensive was in September 2022, while diesel remains slightly below the 191.54p it reached in April.