The price of unleaded petrol rises to the highest level this year so far

The price of petrol has risen to its highest level and the average price stands at 151.7p as of 4 September up from 150.7p last week.

This is the seventh weekly rise in a row which has been brought on by an increase on the cost of oil which has risen by almost $12 a barrel since the beginning of July to more than $88.

As a result of Opec reducing the supply of oil wholesale cost of fuel has gone up which has been passed on to motorists.

Figures published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero shows the average price of diesel has climbed over the past few weeks from 144.6p a litre in July to 154.7p on Monday.

On Monday, RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said, “August was a big shock to drivers as they had grown used to seeing far lower prices than last summer’s record highs.

“Seeing £4 or more go on to the cost of a tank in the space of just a few weeks from a pump price rise of 6-7p a litre is galling, particularly for those who drive lots of miles or run an older, less fuel-efficient car.

“While the increase is clearly bad news for drivers, it could have been far worse had the biggest retailers not let their inflated margins from earlier in the year return to more normal levels as wholesale fuel costs went up.”

“All we can hope is that this move by many big retailers back to fairer forecourt pricing remains when wholesale costs go down again. Only time will tell.”