Petrol prices set to rise again

19 March 2009 12:08am

The price of petrol at the pumps has fallen slightly in the last four weeks, latest AA figures show.

But prices are set to rise again when a planned Government 2p increase in fuel duty takes effect on April 1.

The AA will meet Treasury ministers to argue that the 2p rise should not go ahead.

Between mid-February and mid-March the average UK price of petrol fell from 90.88p a litre to 90.56p.

The average cost of diesel went down from 100.79p a litre to 99.77p.

Since the beginning of the year, average petrol prices have risen 3.41p.

In the last four weeks, three of the four main supermarkets have raised their average petrol prices while most non-supermarket retailers have lowered theirs.

Supermarkets remain broadly 1.4p a litre cheaper than the other retailers, although the price gap in many towns is extremely tight.

The cheapest petrol at present - at 90.2p a litre on average - is to be found in north west England and in Yorkshire and Humberside. Northern Ireland (91.6p) has the most expensive petrol.

AA president Edmund King said: "On April 1, if the Government goes ahead with its fuel duty hike, it will join local authorities in conveniently forgetting that drivers also face the threat of severe financial hardship from the credit crunch - echoing Richmond's proposed £800,000 raid on car parking, Edinburgh's unjustified doubling of parking permit costs for large families and proposed workplace charges in Nottingham and Milton Keynes."

© The Press Association