More bad news for UK petrol prices
Key Points
- UK petrol averaged 158.31p a litre on 15 April after climbing nearly 5p, with diesel hitting 191.54p
- Wholesale petrol and diesel prices jumped 5p a litre last week to their highest level since the war began
- April's modest pump price falls in the second half of the month look unlikely to extend into May
- Northern Ireland saw faster falls than the UK average, with unleaded down 4p and diesel down nearly 10p
- Free apps such as myRAC help UK drivers find the cheapest local forecourts in real time
UK drivers face fresh fuel price rises in May after wholesale petrol and diesel jumped 5p a litre last week to their highest level since the war began, the RAC has warned.
Petrol averaged 158.31p a litre on 15 April after climbing nearly 5p in the first half of the month, while diesel rose more than 7p to 191.54p, according to RAC fuel watch data. The second half of April brought modest relief, with petrol falling over a penny and diesel dropping 3p by month’s end.
That relief now looks fragile as wholesale petrol and diesel prices climbed about 5p a litre over the past week and sit at their highest level since the war began.
Forecourt prices have not yet caught up: petrol has risen only a fraction of a penny so far in May, and diesel has continued to slip slowly. If wholesale costs stay elevated, pump prices will follow.
April was a tale of two halves
Simon Williams, RAC Head of Policy, said April was a month of two halves.
Petrol rose nearly 5p to hit 158.31p on 15 April, while diesel jumped more than 7p to 191.54p. The second fortnight reversed some of that rise, with petrol coming down over a penny and diesel by 3p.
Northern Ireland drivers gained more than the rest of the UK in the back half of April. Unleaded fell almost 4p a litre and diesel dropped nearly 10p, well ahead of UK averages.
“The outlook for the first couple of weeks of May, however, is more ominous. Wholesale petrol and diesel prices jumped by around 5p a litre last week, and are now at their highest since the war began. This hasn’t yet been reflected at the pumps.”
Retailers typically pass through wholesale changes within two to three weeks.
With diesel still drifting down at the pumps and petrol barely moving, the gap between wholesale costs and retail prices is widening. Williams said future price rises at the forecourts are “all but inevitable” if oil and wholesale prices stay elevated.
Williams urged drivers to keep comparing prices and use free apps such as myRAC to find the cheapest pumps locally.
Fuel comparison apps pull live forecourt data and flag the cheapest stations within a chosen radius, letting drivers skip premium pricing at motorway and convenience sites.
A 5p a litre saving on a 55 litre fill works out at £2.75. For a driver filling up weekly, that adds up to roughly £143 a year per vehicle.
Oil and wholesale fuel pricing continue to track global events, and UK pump prices remain among the most exposed in Europe, given high fuel duty and VAT layered on top of wholesale costs.
Until wholesale prices ease, drivers should expect another round of forecourt rises in the coming weeks.
