Fuel prices hit three-year high

Petrol and diesel prices have reached their highest levels for three years.

Both fuels saw increases of more than 2p per litre during November, as rising oil prices pushed up wholesale costs.

A litre of petrol reached an average of 120.78p per litre and diesel hit 123.18 pp er litre.

The rises mean that the cost of filling an average family car’ s tank with petrol is now £66.43 – £3.55 more than in July when unleaded was at its cheapest point of 2017 - and a tank of diesel now costs £67.75 – £4.50 more than in July.

While the rising price of oil has pushed costs up, observers say that the strengthening of the pound against the US dollar has kept them in check to some extent.

The end of the month also saw the OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, agree to extend its production cut from March to the end of 2018. The organization has been restricting production in an effort to prop up wholesale oil prices.

RAC fuel spokesman SimonWilliams said :“The market had been expecting OP EC to extend its production cut until the end of next year so afteran initial rise in the price of oil during the day of the meeting, things cooled down.

“Even though the oil price is now consistently above $60 a barrel, the increased value of sterling against the dollar is helping to keep fuel prices down at the pumps. This is good news for motorists as it means petrol and diesel prices are unlikely to shoot up.

“The price we will pay for fuel at the pump into 2018 very much hinges on how effective OPEC’s production cut continues to be in reducing the global glut of crude oil. The increased barrel price this is designed to create may also work against the group as it make sf racking for oil in the US more financially viable, which in turn may lead to America increasing its production and filling the gap from the cuts. If this happensit should mean fore court prices won’t go shooting up.”