Diesel hits record high price of 14794p a litre

It beats the previous high from April 2012

Diesel prices at UK forecourts have reached a new high.

The average price of a litre of diesel on Sunday was 147.94p, the RAC said.

That surpasses the previous high of 147.93p set in April 2012.

It comes a week after the previous record average price for petrol – also set in April 2012 – was broken.

Since then petrol prices have risen further, peaking at 144.35p per litre on Sunday.

The RAC’s figures are based on data provided by Experian Catalist.

The average cost of diesel has gone up 30p a litre in the past 12 months, making it £16 more expensive to fill up a typical 55-litre family car.

The “prime reason” for the increase is the cost of oil doubling in the past year, according to the RAC.

It warned that the price will be felt by the UK’s 12.5 million diesel car drivers, along with increasing costs to businesses.

The UK has 4.5 million vans and 525,000 heavy goods vehicles, the vast majority of which run on diesel.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “While this isn’t unexpected, as petrol has already hit a new record price, it’s still another body blow to drivers and businesses across the country who were already struggling to cope with rising prices.

“As well as hitting household budgets this will have a knock-on effect on the price we pay for goods and services, as diesel is very much the fuel of business and, as such, will contribute further to inflation.”

Published: 01/11/2021 by Radio NewsHub