February fuel rise sends pump prices to six-month high

The average price of a litre of petrol has hit its highest level since last September, with drivers having now endured five consecutive months of price rises, according to new data from RAC Fuel Watch*.

The cost of a litre of unleaded rose by 0.65p in February to reach 139.65p. The last time petrol was this expensive was on 6 September 2024 when it was 139.81p. Average diesel prices also went up last month by 0.73p to 146.48p, a price last seen in late August (29 August 2024 – 146.55p).

Filling a family-sized petrol car now costs £76.81, up almost £3 since the start of October when the price was £73.88 (134.33p a litre). A diesel fill-up today has now surpassed the £80 mark, with the average cost at £80.56 a tank, up more than £4 since early October last year (£76.45 –139p a litre).

Supermarkets are currently charging drivers on average 2.3p less per litre of unleaded compared to the UK average (137.36p compared to 139.65p), and 2.6p less per litre of diesel (143.91p compared to 146.48p). Some sites are charging substantially less, with the RAC aware of supermarkets close to Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-upon-Tyne selling unleaded for just 127.7p a litre.

Some enterprising independent forecourts are also charging significantly less – with one in Shropshire selling petrol at just 126.9p a litre and diesel at 135.9p a litre.** Drivers able to use these cheaper forecourts will pay just £69.80 for a complete petrol fill-up, which is £7 less than the average UK cost.

Once again, it’s drivers in Northern Ireland paying the lowest prices for their fuel. At the end of February, the average price of a litre of unleaded was just 132.9p – nearly 7p less than in the rest of the UK – with diesel at 138.9p, more than 6p less a litre.

Pump prices rose as retailers faced higher wholesale costs, driven by the increasing cost of oil which climbed to $82 a barrel in mid-January. This was primarily due to greater demand in the northern hemisphere caused by the cold snap, along with concerns about possible supply disruptions ahead of the changeover of the United States presidency. However, oil prices, and therefore wholesale fuel prices, have now been falling again for several weeks – meaning pump prices should follow.

RAC fuel spokesperson Simon Williams said: “It’s disappointing to see pump prices up yet again in February, with drivers now facing some of the highest costs at forecourts since the end of last summer. Motorists were the unfortunate casualties of rising wholesale prices through January, not helped by global oil prices hitting the $82-a-barrel mark in the middle of the month.

“But we hope better times are on the horizon. With wholesale fuel costs falling throughout February, there’s a good prospect petrol and diesel prices will come down this month as retailers buy fresh stock at lower prices. As always, it really does pay to shop around because pump prices at supermarket sites vary by as much as 13p a litre.”

Drivers looking to buy the cheapest petrol or diesel should use the fuel finder feature in the free myRAC app. The app, which can be downloaded for free from the App Store or Google Play, allows users to search over a two, five or 10-mile radius, with each search giving the five cheapest prices.

The online RAC Fuel Watch resource has more information about the average price of petrol and diesel at the big four supermarkets and at motorway services. It also features graphs showing average prices since 2000.