Over £6 a gallon for unleaded and diesel
Average petrol prices have gone past the 132p a litre mark, meaning that for the first time the cost has reached £6 a gallon, the AA said.
The average price of petrol at the pumps is now 132.12p a litre, while diesel has also hit a new record at 137.92p a litre.
The cost of petrol has risen 6.93p a litre since the start of the year, and 1.68p a litre in the past week, said the AA.
A year ago, a litre of petrol on average cost 114.30p and diesel was 115.31p.
For a family with two petrol cars, the monthly cost of fuel has risen from £242.70 in March 2010 to £280.54 now.
In the same period, the price of oil has risen from around 85 US dollars (£52.4) a barrel to 113 US dollars (£69.7).
AA president Edmund King said: “£6 a gallon is not just another milestone along the road to higher fuel prices, it marks the point at which the wheels start to come off mobility in 21st-century UK.
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“Lower-income drivers, poorer rural residents, volunteer drivers, youngsters looking to their first jobs are some of the vulnerable groups struggling to stay on the road.
“The Government must act urgently to reduce the burden of high fuel duty and VAT. In the meantime, drivers are going to have to manage as best as they can, by cutting out journeys, driving more economically and hoping that a stronger pound will cushion some of the blow.
“But these high prices are already leaving casualties among drivers, consumers and business.”
** Thanks to Press Association **
