Petrol skyrockets to 166.2p in highest jump since 2022 as Middle East fighting sends oil prices soaring AGAIN

PETROL prices have climbed to their highest level since the 2022 fuel crisis. The average cost is now 166.2p a litre on forecourts across the country, up by a huge 4.4p since the August bank holiday. Experts have blamed the ongoing war in Iran, which has pushed up wholesale oil prices. Brent crude oil, one of the main measures of oil prices, briefly reached above $100 a barrel yesterday – which is significantly higher than normal. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! Diesel prices are also up, averaging 187.7p a litre yesterday, according to the AA. That’s an increase of 4.1p since September 1. However, drivers in Northern Ireland are currently seeing much lower prices than the rest of the UK. Petrol prices there are averaging 156.1p a litre. Yorkshire and Humber is the cheapest area in England, Wales and Scotland, with prices at 162.2p per litre. Luke Bosdet, the AA’s spokesman on pump prices, said: “Once again, with petrol wholesale costs shooting up to their highest since the Ukraine war, we can see average pump prices wasting no time in reflecting that.” Most read in Money AA analysis showed hundreds of petrol stations in England, Wales and Scotland have prices on par with those in Northern Ireland. But Mr Bosdet said: “The trouble is, as the CMA reported, the vast majority choose to over-price petrol and diesel at the expense of commuters, families and businesses. “Little wonder that electric vehicle sales have been booming this summer.” Comment now