By Petrol prices set to ease after hitting record highs, UK motoring groups have said.
UK motoring groups have said petrol prices are likely to fall back from record levels as the costs of wholesale fuel and global oil are easing.
The average price for a litre of petrol hit £1.63 on Sunday after rising above £1.60 for the first time last week.
Diesel remained above £1.73 a litre, but the AA said “wild” pump prices should stabilise unless global oil prices take off again.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused oil costs to surge worldwide.
The AA said filling up a typical 55-litre car tank now costs £89.90 on average, up from £68.57 a year ago.
Oil prices soared after Russia invaded Ukraine, with the price of Brent crude oil hitting a near 14-year high at one point.
In the past few days, the price of oil has dropped after fears that the European Union would follow the US and Canada in banning Russian oil.
The RAC said drivers would probably see more rises this week, but added they “should soon get some respite from pump prices jumping by several pence a litre every day as oil and wholesale prices appear to have settled”.
“The price hikes seen over the weekend are still a result of the oil price rise which began at the start of the month and peaked early last week at $137 a barrel,” said a RAC fuel spokesman.
“As the oil price has now fallen back, we should hopefully reach the peak and start to see prices going the other way to reflect the big drop in wholesale costs seen at the end of last week, subject to no further spikes in the barrel price this week.”
However, some retailers might be reluctant to lower their prices in case wholesale costs rise again.
