Petrol prices hit a new high after an urgent review was ordered.
Petrol prices reached a record 185p per litre on Sunday, as ministers demanded an urgent review of whether the fuel duty cut was passed on to drivers.
The AA, on the other hand, predicted that petrol pump prices “should be grinding to a halt, at least temporarily, by the end of the week” as wholesale prices fell.
Fuel price increases have been fueled by the Ukraine conflict and efforts to reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian oil.
Motoring organisations have urged the government to do more to assist drivers.
A further reduction in fuel duty would be “very welcome, albeit long overdue,” according to report.
“The rate and magnitude of the increase in unleaded is astounding.”
“This must surely increase pressure on the government to take action to avoid a summer of discontent at the pump.”
Meanwhile, diesel prices fell slightly on Sunday to 190.92p per litre, after reaching a new high of 191.03p on Saturday.
The average cost of filling a 55-litre family car with diesel is now £105.01, while a petrol car costs £101.77.
Retailers base their prices on the wholesale cost of gasoline and diesel, but there is a two-week lag for pump prices to reflect changes in wholesale prices due to the time it takes for fuel to reach forecourts.
For more than ten days, the wholesale price of petrol had been lower than its peak before the Jubilee bank holiday, according to report.
However, wholesale diesel prices are still rising.
“Diesel’s relentless surge in costs remains a nightmare,” said AA fuel price spokesman Luke Bosdet, “with its knock-on impact for the cost of delivery of goods and services, and thus inflation.”
He went on to say that because the petrol market is “extremely volatile,” “only time will tell whether the recent drop in costs is a brief pause or a longer-term reversal.”
