UK average petrol prices have come within a whisker of the record high over the weekend, reaching 85.93 pence per litre, says The AA Motoring Trust. The highest-ever UK average price was 86.05 pence on 17 April.
Last month's two-pence-a-litre price war among supermarkets made little impact and June's average fuel price climbed back to 85.6 pence per litre, equalling the average in May. Average supermarket petrol prices, which continue to trade at a penny below the overall UK average, fell by a marginal third of a penny between May and June.
With average petrol prices 79.6 pence per litre in January, individual motorists have seen the monthly cost of petrol for a typical privately-owned car rise from 87.43 in January to 94.02 in June. In households with two car-owning adults, this represents an additional 13.18 hit on family expenditure for the month.
With the summer motoring season under way, UK motorists will begin to notice more the true effects on their finances as they notch up bigger mileages on driving holidays, trips to the seaside, theme parks and other attractions.
"The world demand for oil, together with the political situation, mean that fuel prices will continue to be volatile over the summer. Motorists should brace themselves for continued high prices at the pump," says Bert Morris, director of The AA Motoring Trust.
NOTES: UK consumption of unleaded petrol in 2003 was 19.72 million tonnes (source: DTI) or 73 million litres per day. With a six pence difference between January and June average unleaded petrol prices, motorists spend 4.38 million extra on petrol each day.
The average mileage of a typical privately-owned car is 8,700 miles. Averaging 30 miles per gallon, it consumes 290 gallons or 1318 litres of petrol per year.
The average car-owning family spends more on motoring than on housing, food and leisure. The AA Motoring Trust's report "Cost of Motoring - 2005" (PDF 69K) shows that the cost of running a petrol car has risen by six per cent since last year, with diesel cars 5.3 per cent higher. The increases are due mainly to the soaring cost of car fuel and unusually high depreciation.
