Motorists hit by 10th consecutive week of fuel price rises

Unleaded and diesel prices have increased again (Lewis Whyld/PA) Credit: PA Wire/PA Images

Fuel prices have risen for a 10th successive week.

The average cost of a litre of unleaded stands at more than £1.30 at UK forecourts, with diesel exceeding £1.34, Government figures show.

Fuel has not been more expensive than current levels since July 2014.

Since April, the cost of filling up a typical 55-litre family car that runs on unleaded or diesel has risen by around £6.

  • Here's how the cost of fuel has risen in a week, month and year

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Weekly Fuel Facts Credit: RAC Foundation

Chancellor Philip Hammond hinted earlier this week that he may scrap the eight-year freeze on fuel duty in this autumn’s Budget.

He told MPs his department’s analysis from 2014, which stated the benefits of the freeze offset all tax losses, would “have to be looked at again in the context of the economy today”.

Fuel duty has been kept at a rate of 58p per litre since 2011. Mr Hammond said this has saved the average car driver £850 compared with the pre-2010 escalator.

The eight-year freeze on fuel duty may be scrapped in this autumn’s Budget Credit: PA

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “The Chancellor rightly says that drivers have benefited from a prolonged fuel duty freeze, but we shouldn’t forget that for many people real wages have stagnated or even fallen over the past decade.

“As it is, transport – and in the majority of cases this means running a car – remains the single biggest area of average household expenditure.

“Wider Government policy also affects the cost of fuel through its impact on the exchange rate. The continued rise in pump prices is partly driven by the weak pound against the dollar.”