Drivers warned over petrol price hike by Sunday

Drivers are being warned about a potential petrol price rise of up to 10p a litre by the end of the week.

The conflict in the Middle East has escalated this week, with the US and Israel bombing Iran with Iranian missiles then being fired at the likes of Dubai causing travel chaos.

The raging war has had a knock-on effect on key shipping routes and an immediate spike in the price of oil, which directly affects petrol prices.

Speaking on GB News, FairFuel UK’s Howard Cox warned that drivers could face a jump in petrol prices by as much as 10p by the end of the week.

He said: "The big worry for me at the moment, because we had a 20 per cent increase in oil prices in the last week, is that we will get something like a 5p to 10p increase at the pumps. I think that could come through by the end of the week."

He also criticised Chancellor Rachel Reeves over her decision not to delay the end of the fuel duty rise again. Having been extended several times already, the government has not opted to delay the ending of the temporary 5p cut on petrol and diesel again, with the tax break slowly being removed from September.

Mr Cox added: “She missed an opportunity here, a massive opportunity. All she had to do is say I'll cancel the fuel duty rise for another year, that's all she had to do."

But experts at the AA are urging motorists not to panic buy, despite queues for pumps being seen across several UK cities already this week.

They said that a price rise is ‘inevitable’ but that drivers should not ‘change their routine’.

AA president Edmund King said: “Pump prices in the coming weeks will inevitably increase, at worst in the short-term back up to where they were at the start of year. Petrol in February had been at a low of 131.9p a litre. It had started this year at 135.7p a litre.

“The silver lining is that the country is coming out of winter and the fuel efficiency of cars improves significantly with warmer weather: engines are no longer straining with cold starts or toiling to power heaters, lights and wipers. Typically, car owners see an improvement of three miles per gallon as they get more range out of a tank of fuel. As a rule of thumb, each 1mpg change is equivalent to 1p on or off a litre of fuel.

“There is no need for drivers to break their refuelling routine. As well as better fuel efficiency, it takes time for cost increases to work their way through to the pump. Supermarkets tend to hold their prices down for longer. However, with the Government’s Fuel Finder pump-price transparency now becoming established, drivers will soon be able to spot all the cheaper fuel stations locally and locate where to keep their fuel costs down”.