Diesel pump prices have started to rise again after two months of falls, the AA reports. On Wednesday, the average price of diesel rose for the second day, adding more than half a penny since Monday, it said.
Yesterday it averaged 183.71p a litre, having reached its lowest point on Monday at 183.19p a litre. On July 1, diesel had set a record of 199.07p a litre, but had been falling since.
Average petrol pump prices continue to drop, albeit at a much slower rate than earlier in the summer. Yesterday, they averaged 169.80p a litre, having fallen from the record high of 191.53p on July 3.
The AA added: "However, with many small independents still charging less than 160p a litre and wholesale petrol prices remaining around 30p a litre lower than the peak in June, the UK average should be much closer to the 160p mark, if not below once the less VAT in the cost of a litre is factored in."
Luke Bosdet, the AA’s spokesperson on pump prices, said: "The rise in diesel costs is ominous and casts a shadow over transport costs and the fuel expenditure of businesses that rely on this workhorse fuel to deliver services, particularly in rural areas. There has been a sharp downturn in diesel costs this week, but the general trend is upwards from the low point in early August.
"From the track of wholesale costs, it is clear that what the fuel trade pays has fallen at least 20p a litre, even before VAT is factored in, but the UK average at the pump fell 16p a litre. Such is the damage caused by ‘feathered’ prices on forecourts.”
