WOKINGHAM motorists are paying 6p a litre more for diesel than the national average.
And as the country faces the worst increase in fuel prices for at least 18 years, a pressure group is calling for an independent price monitoring body to be launched.
Research by the RAC revealed that the average price of a litre of unleaded rose by 6p a litre during May, to 129.41p, while diesel rose to 132.39p per litre. The average price in the South East is 129.83p for unleaded and 132.73p for diesel.
The RAC added that its Fuel Watch data also shows the average prices of both petrol and diesel have gone up every single day since April 22, adding 8p a litre in the process – the longest sustained price increase since March 2015.
However, borough motorists have been hit even more: a litre of unleaded has been rising to levels higher than the national average. On Tuesday, a litre of unleaded was 134.9p and diesel 138.9p at the Shell garage on Reading Road, Wokingham – 5p and 6p more than the national average.
And the BP on Finchampstead Road was a penny more expensive for unleaded: 135.9p per litre, on Wednesday, June 7.
Fuel prices
| UK average | BP, Finch Rd June 6 | ||
| Unleaded | Diesel | Unleaded | Diesel |
| 129.41p | 132.39p | 135.9p | 138.9p |
On May 12, a litre of unleaded was 128.9p and diesel 133.9p at the BP on Reading Road.
And to show how much the costs have risen in such a short space of time, on April 2, the average price of a litre of unleaded was 120.46p, while diesel was 123.08p.
Of this, fuel duty is 57.95p a litre and there is VAT on top of the total price.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “May was a hellish month for motorists. Sadly, they have been besieged by pump price rises for three months with nearly 9p a litre being added to petrol since the beginning of March.
“In the last week of May the oil price cooled a little to $76 a barrel which is slightly better news for motorists as the RAC’s two-week forecast is currently showing that average prices may even reduce by a penny or so.
“While this isn’t much, and could easily change in response to oil trading this week, it is at least a sign that the rise in forecourt prices may have stopped for the time being.”
In response, the FairFuelUK Campaign felt that the time was right for an independent regulator to come forward.
They argue that current pump prices are 1-2p per litre more than they need be, despite escalating oil costs and the weaker pound. They also feel that motorists are being exploited as a result.
Howard Cox, Founder of the FairFuelUK Campaign, told The Wokingham Paper: “Reports from FairFuelUK supporters are showing that in some cases, garages have put up prices three to four times in May, when fuel forecourt owners have only paid for one to two deliveries of bulk fuel in the same month.
“How can that be fair, or even honest?
“With unleaded pump prices ranging from 127p to 141p in a 10-mile radius of Wokingham, drivers are left clueless as to know how the price of filling up is calculated by the unchecked opportunistic profiteering business in the fuel supply chain.
“It’s time the Government set up an independent price monitoring body to make pricing changes transparent.”
