Drivers are being hit with record prices for petrol and diesel following a surge in oil prices to the highest levels ever, it has been revealed.
It is understood that the UK’s petrol prices are the fourth highest in Europe and petrol prices are twice those in America.
A gallon of diesel now costs on average in the UK more than £5 a gallon for the first time ever.
A litre of diesel now averages at 110.31 pence per litre, compared to 91.09 this time last year, said the AA.
The UK average price of petrol has risen to 104.85 pence per litre, compared to 87.27 a year ago.
That 17.58-pence-per-litre difference in the price of petrol means that it is costing £8.79 more to fill a typical 50-litre fuel tank than it was a year ago.
An average car owner is now spending £18.84 more per month on petrol.
‘Record fuel prices will bring record levels of misery to many millions of drivers,’ said Edmund King, the AA’s president.
‘The £5 gallon must surely concentrate minds at the Treasury and should be a warning to the Chancellor that his proposed increase of 2p per litre should not go ahead after the Budget next month.
‘The Chancellor must accept that global oil prices are soaring out of control so he should not add fuel to the fire by hiking up the tax.
‘Rural motorists, the disabled and car dependent communities are suffering enough.’