Petrol price above 150p a litre for first time in nearly two years

The average price of a litre of petrol has risen above 150p a litre for the first time since May 2024, with diesel over 177p, a month after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran.

The latest figures from the motoring organisation RAC show the conflict is continuing to push up fuel prices, although they remain below the peaks seen after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

On Friday, wholesale oil prices rose back above $110 for a barrel of Brent Crude, despite US President Donald Trump saying he would postpone plans to start destroying Iranian energy plants by another 10 days.

The RAC said the latest price rise was an "unwelcome milestone".

"With the long-awaited four-day Easter weekend almost within touching distance, the cost of getting away by car is going to be noticeably higher this year," said RAC head of policy Simon Williams.

Unleaded petrol is now 17p more per litre than before the conflict began. Diesel is 35p per litre more expensive.

The RAC's advice for drivers is to "plan carefully" where they refuel, making use of apps that allow them to compare prices at local outlets.

Wholesale oil prices have fluctuated between $73 and $116 a barrel for Brent Crude over the past four weeks, driven by traders' views of whether the flow of oil out of the Middle East was set to get easier or more difficult.

Late on Thursday Trump said talks with Iran were going "very well" and that he was holding off on military strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure until at least 6 April.

In the past such pronouncements have helped to calm the markets.

However, Russ Mould investment director at AJ Bell said comments out of Washington and Tehran seemed to come from "parallel worlds".

Higher wholesale prices push up prices at the pump, often with a slight delay, although a big proportion of the overall fuel price is made up of the cost of transport, processing, retail and tax.

Analysts say every $10 increase in the wholesale oil price pushes up pump prices by around 7p a litre.

The boss of Asda, the UK's second largest fuel retailer, on Friday said the conflict was affecting fuel supplies in some locations.

Executive chairman Allan Leighton said a small number of individual petrol pumps on its forecourts had been left temporarily out of use following bumper demand as a result of the recent price volatility.

The retailer has not closed any forecourts as a result of the conflict and expects any affected petrol pumps to be back in use after its next delivery.

"Our fuel volumes are up quite significantly and clearly demand has been outstripping supply," he said.

"Supply is tight and we are all trying hard on that."

The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) said the situation amongst suppliers it represented had remained "stable".

"Industry and government remain in regular contact to monitor deliveries and stock levels in the UK as well as the situation internationally," said PRA director Gordon Balmer.

Leighton also denied suggestions fuel retailers were taking advantage of the spike in prices to boost their own profits after the government said it would clamp down on any retailers who tried to "rip off" customers.

He said Asda's profit margins were down as a result of the recent spike in prices and that it was "very clear" that it was not a case of profiteering.

"The government is getting a lot of money off the back of this, and before they start accusing people of profiteering, just in my book, there's no credibility in any of it," Leighton said.

"You don't have to be Einstein to work out that that actually is impossible in the current situation.

"I think the government needs to look at what it is doing instead of pointing the finger at everybody else."

It followed reports of truck drivers and other motorists stranded, while businesses say rising costs are affecting their viability.

Albanese is holding an emergency national cabinet meeting on Monday to work out a response to the situation.