Diesel’s best days were supposed to be in the past but the price of the fuel has risen to its highest level in Britain.
The average price of a litre of diesel in Britain on Sunday was 147.94p, according to the roadside recovery company, the RAC.
The level surpasses the previous high of 147.93p set in April 2012 and follows similar record-breaking prices for petrol, which also set a new high on Sunday (albeit only from last week) of 144.35p a lite.
The average cost of diesel has gone up 30p a litre in the last year, which the RAC calculates makes it £16 more expensive to fill up a typical 55-litre family car.
“While this isn’t unexpected, as petrol has already hit a new record price, it’s still another body blow to drivers and businesses across the country who were already struggling to cope with rising prices,” said Simon Williams, the RAC’s fuel spokesman.
Diesel hits record high which is ‘another body blow to drivers and businesses’ which 'will contribute further to inflation' - https://t.co/5jkwabvsw8 pic.twitter.com/98gn9n0Wnn
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“As well as hitting household budgets this will have a knock-on effect on the price we pay for goods and services, as diesel is very much the fuel of business and, as such, will contribute further to inflation,” Williams said.
Luke Bosdet, Williams’s counterpart at the RAC’s perennial rival, the AA, said the cost increases were down to a hike in the wholesale price of fuel.
“Diesel drivers were given a temporary reprieve from a new price record despite the wholesale price of their fuel rising much faster than petrol’s. By the end of last week, petrol’s wholesale cost was nearly 52p a litre, having loitered around 44.5p a litre during the summer – a rise of 7.5p a litre,” Bosdet explained.
“In comparison, diesel closed in on 57p a litre on Friday, up from around 43.5p a litre during the summer – an increase of 13.5p a litre,” he added.
Mercifully, for drivers if not for Mother Nature, China has released reserves of petrol and diesel in an attempt to stabilise prices.
The price of Brent crude for January delivery nevertheless was trading 71 cents higher at US$88.43 a barrel.
Traders will now be speculating about what the fates may have for fuel prices at this Thursday’s meeting of OPEC+, the cartel of oil-producing nations.
Boutique broker SP Angel said the consensus is for the group to stick to its plan to add 400,000 barrels of oil per day of supply each month until April 2022.