{"id":124858,"date":"2026-08-29T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=124858"},"modified":"2026-08-29T01:52:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T00:52:12","slug":"petrol-prices-soar-again-motorists-roads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/petrol-prices-soar-again-motorists-roads\/","title":{"rendered":"Petrol Prices Soar Again as Millions of Motorists Prepare to Hit Britain\u2019s Busiest Roads"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The increase comes as drivers face higher costs for holiday and family journeys, with the RAC <\/strong>expecting record levels of road traffic during the bank holiday period. According to the RAC, around 20 million car journeys are expected between Friday and Monday, making it the busiest August bank holiday period since its records began in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest fuel figures have renewed scrutiny of petrol station pricing, with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA<\/strong>) previously raising concerns about competition in the road fuel sector. According to the AA, some areas still have petrol prices around 10p a litre<\/strong> below the national average, showing significant differences between local forecourts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuel Prices Rise as Global Oil Markets Remain Unsettled<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The current rise in petrol costs follows changes in international oil prices linked to tensions in the Middle East. According to the Guardian, Brent crude<\/strong>, the global oil benchmark, was trading at about $72 a barrel before the US-Israeli attack on Iran in February, before reaching $126 a barrel in April. It later fell to $71 at the start of July amid hopes of a peace agreement, before rising again to $89.63.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wholesale price of petrol <\/a><\/strong>has increased to 68.5p a litre following the recent movement in oil markets, according to This is Money. The figure remains below the peak recorded between late April and early May, when wholesale petrol exceeded 72p a litre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite a fall in wholesale prices during late July and early August, average pump prices did not decline at the same pace. The AA said the reduction in wholesale petrol costs lowered the average UK pump price by only 0.4p a litre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The increase means filling a typical 55-litre family car costs around \u00a389 this bank holiday weekend, compared with \u00a374 during last year\u2019s August bank holiday, according to This is Money. The higher fuel costs arrive as many households prepare for longer journeys during the final summer bank holiday period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Petrol prices climb as oil markets remain volatile \u00a9 Shutterstock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Watchdog Raises Concerns Over Competition Between Fuel Retailers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The rise in pump prices has also placed attention on how quickly fuel retailers reflect changes in wholesale costs. According to the Competition and Markets Authority<\/strong>, many retailers were too slow to pass on reductions in wholesale energy prices to customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CMA has increased monitoring of fuel retailers amid concerns about pricing practices. Earlier in August, the regulator sent more than 1,000 warning letters<\/strong> to retailers that had failed to share their prices with the government\u2019s Fuel Finder service, according to the Guardian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke Bosdet<\/strong>, the AA\u2019s fuel pricing spokesperson, said UK fuel pricing was \u201ctoo often overpriced and uncompetitive\u201d, with some communities unable to access road fuel at a reasonable price. He said drivers could use comparison tools to find cheaper stations and that competitive forecourts could influence prices in nearby areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples of regional differences have been reported across the UK. According to This is Money, some locations have petrol prices around 10p a litre<\/strong> lower than the national average, while nearby stations charge considerably more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The RAC has warned that congestion will add pressure for motorists during the bank holiday period. It expects Friday to be the busiest day, with more than 4.1 million cars<\/strong> expected on major roads, followed by further high traffic levels throughout the weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Average petrol prices have climbed to 161.6p a litre, their highest level since November 2022, as millions of motorists prepare for a busy August bank holiday weekend. Diesel prices have also risen, reaching an average of 183.4p a litre.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":124861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124858"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124862,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124858\/revisions\/124862"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}