Author: WTX Business Team

Figures from August show that the cost of fuel has risen the most in more than 20 years(Picture: Getty Images)

Drivers were hit by one of the biggest monthly fuel price rises in more than two decades in August, new figures have shown.

The RAC said the 7p per litre spike in the average cost of petrol in August was the fifth largest monthly increase in 23 years.

The 8p per litre hike in diesel prices was the sixth largest over the same period.

The RAC said rising pump prices are being caused by an increase in the cost of oil, which has gone up by nearly 12 US dollars a barrel since the start of July to nearly 87 US dollars due to producing group Opec+ reducing supply.

This led to the wholesale cost of fuel – what retailers pay – going up, which has been passed on to drivers at forecourts.

Fuel prices have gone down from the highs seen after the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year (Picture: AFP)

Earlier this week data from the Confused.com fuel index, which organises the country by postcode, the best areas for cheaper petrol include Lancashire, South Wales and Northern Ireland.

In fact, the Belfast postcode – which covers all of Northern Ireland – currently has the cheapest petrol in the country, with an average price of 145.1p per litre.

The fuel across the Irish Sea is considerably cheaper than the average for any area on the island of Great Britain, as the Torquay postcode takes second place with a jump up to 146.7p per litre.

Rounding out the top five lowest petrol prices in the UK are the Sunderland (146.8p), Bradford (147.0p) and Kilmarnock (147.2p) postcodes.

Meanwhile, the most expensive areas in the country for petrol are dominated by Scottish islands and parts of London.

More: TrendingMap shows parts of the UK with the highest petrol pricesGirl, 3, left with serious injuries after being mauled in the face by dogMum finds photo of Lucy Letby with her baby son – who died soon after

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: ‘August was a big shock to drivers as they had grown used to seeing far lower prices than last summer’s record highs.

‘Seeing £4 or more go on to the cost of a tank in the space of just a few weeks from a pump price rise of 6-7p a litre is galling, particularly for those who drive lots of miles or run an older, less fuel-efficient car.

‘While the increase is clearly bad news for drivers, it could have been far worse had the biggest retailers not let their inflated margins from earlier in the year return to more normal levels as wholesale fuel costs went up.’

‘All we can hope is that this move by many big retailers back to fairer forecourt pricing remains when wholesale costs go down again. Only time will tell.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Know what financial assistance you’re getting.

House prices see biggest yearly decline since 2009 Nationwide’s latest figures show house prices are 5.3% lower compared to August last year – the biggest annual decline since 2009. Nationwide said the drop represented a fall of £14,600 on a typical home in the UK since house prices peaked in August 2022. The building society said higher borrowing costs for buyers had led to a slowdown in activity in the housing market. Mortgage approvals are also about 20% below pre-Covid levels. The Bank of England has lifted interest rates 14 times in a row, since December 2021, in a bid…

Elementor #547100 September 1, 20231 Min Read Summary of the Top 6 headlines today Financial Times – Adani shares lose $4bn as politicians demand action over hidden investors  The Financial Times’s main story is about India’s Adani Group, which it says lost $4.2bn (£3.3bn) in shares following revelations about “family-linked shareholders in the company’s stock” The front splash also features the story of the block of flats fire in Johannesburg, South Africa, that killed more than 70 people. A striking image of the burning building is the paper’s lead image. Today’s top stories Like this article? why don’t you share…

Elementor #546688 August 31, 20231 Min Read Swiss unveil dirty money clampdown to repair image Summary of the Top 6 headlines today The FT says the Swiss banking system is trying to clean up its act after a series of money laundering scandals. The paper says Switzerland has proposed sweeping measures to clamp down on money laundering in an effort to shed the country’s reputation as a haven for ill-gotten gains. Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter unveiled reforms on Wednesday to increase transparency and close legal loopholes by requiring the ultimate “beneficial owners” of trusts and companies to be declared. The…

Pimlico Plumbers founder says he will pay nurses’ ULEZ charges and calls for policy to be binned CITY AM says Plumbing tycoon Charlie Mullins says he will pay nurses’ ULEZ charges and called for the scheme to be “abolished immediately”. The Pimlico Plumbers founder and multimillionaire has vowed to shell out the cost for all nurses newly affected by the ultra low emissions zone (ULEZ) charge in September. “This is a tax on working people that will cost patients their lives, and so must be abolished immediately. Rishi Sunak needs to grow a pair and force Khan to back down…

Network Rail axes bonuses for staff who went on strike Rail staff who went on strike in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions are now set to lose their annual bonus. Network Rail has sparked anger by refusing to dish out bonuses to staff who went on strike. Up to 20,000 members of the RMT union, who took industrial action over pay, jobs and working conditions could be affected. The dispute was settled in March when they voted to accept a 9% pay rise. However, those who took part in strikes from June 2022 onwards will not receive a…

Elementor #546358 August 30, 20231 Min Read Financial Times – Goldman Sachs bought UK and US companies using Chinese state cash Summary of the Top 6 headlines today Investment banking company Goldman Sachs used a fund set up with Chinese state money to buy a series of UK and US companies, including a cyber security business used by the British government, reports the Financial Times. Citing “multiple people with knowledge”, the front page of the FT says the bank completed said deals using a “$2.5bn (£1.9bn) private equity partnership fund it set up in 2017 with the sovereign wealth fund…

CITYAM says CALLS are increasing for the UK’s £4 billion-a-year share trading tax to be reduced or scrapped in an effort to reinvigorate our capital markets.

Elementor #546007 August 29, 20231 Min Read Financial Times – Travellers braced for more delays after air traffic fault brings holiday turmoil Summary of the Top 6 headlines today The Financial Times reports thousands of airline passengers faced long delays and flight cancellations after a failure in the UK’s air traffic control system grounded hundreds of planes. “Windrush remembered” is how the front page sums up this year’s Notting Hill festivities. Writing about the annual carnival’s history, the paper says it was members of the Windrush generation who started it in 1958 – “in a defiant show of cultural celebration…

The Economist – XI’s failing model: Why he won’t fix China’s economy The Economist says Whatever has gone wrong? After China rejoined the world economy in 1978, it became the most spectacular growth story in history. Farm reform, industrialisation and rising incomes lifted nearly 800m people out of extreme poverty. Having produced just a tenth as much as America in 1980, China’s economy is now about three-quarters the size. Yet instead of roaring back after the government abandoned its “zero-covid” policy at the end of 2022, it is lurching from one ditch to the next. The economy grew at an…

Wilko: New bid emerges for stricken retail chain Private equity firm M2 Capital has confirmed it has made a £90m bid for Wilko – in the latest attempt to save the retail chain. M2 Captial has bid £90m for the business and pledged to retain all employees’ jobs for two years. The Guardian newspaper first reported the M2 bid, and says it is one of several offers being considered by administrators. Wilko fell into administration earlier this month, putting 12,500 jobs and 400 stores at risk. The administrators for Wilko set a deadline of Friday last week for bids for…

Elementor #545671 August 28, 20231 Min Read Financial Times – China’s sluggish economy will weigh on global trade, western groups warn Summary of the Top 6 headlines today The Financial Times leads on Western companies’ warnings that the slowdown in China’s economy will weigh heavily on global trade. The paper says the country has for years been a booming market for all kinds of goods and services, but that it is failing to rebound from Covid lockdowns in the way many had expected. It quotes the head of one travel company saying he doesn’t expect business in China to pick…

Bag a bargain on filling up your fridge.

The changes will cut the average household’s energy bills by around £150

City AM – You could open a Coutts account with that CITY AM says Former NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose’s pay package – reportedly £2.4m – has been branded a “sick joke” by Nigel Farage. Dame Alison quit her high-profile role as boss of NatWest, which also owns private bank Coutts over her handling of Farage’s account closure – which sparked a ‘debanking’ scandal. NatWest Group issued an RNS this morning stating that Dame Alison was currently serving out her 12-month notice period and that, per her contract, she would receive her fixed pay. This amounts to: a salary of…

Elementor #544657 August 24, 20231 Min Read Financial Times – Wagner boss Prigozhin was aboard crashed plane Summary of the Top 6 headlines today Developments in Russia also dominate the front page of the Financial Times – it reports that the aircraft Prigozhin was on appears to have been shot down, and US officials had believed he was likely to face retribution after June’s failed revolt. The front page reports Russian officials saying Prigozhin was aboard a plane from Moscow to St. Petersburg that crashed. The FT writes all 10 people on board died, according to Russia’s emergency ministry. Today’s…

Wilko: Jobs to go as attempts to find a buyer fail Jobs at Wilko are set to go and stores will close after the company failed to find a buyer for the whole business. The PwC has said parts of the group could still be bought. Wilko announced earlier this month that it was going into administration, putting 12,500 jobs and its 400 stores at risk. PwC had tried to look for a buyer for all or part of the business. In a statement, PwC said: “While discussions continue with those interested in buying parts of the business, it’s clear…

The company’s specialised chips are key components that help power different forms of artificial intelligence (AI).

Elementor #543571 August 18, 20231 Min Read Financial Times – Labour waters down pledges to strengthen workers’ rights Summary of the Top 6 headlines today The Financial Times leads with Labour’s “watered down” plans to strengthen workers’ rights in a bid to impress corporate leaders and discredit Conservative claims the party is “anti-business” ahead of the next general election. It says a pledge to boost the protection of gig economy workers was “diluted”, according to a text seen by the paper. The front page also reports Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, who as England’s deputy chief medical officer became a household name…

Wet weather dampens retail sales in Great Britain The Guardian says Wet weather has been blamed for a worse-than-expected fall in retail sales last month, with households in Great Britain shunning the high street and pulling back on clothes purchases. Official figures showed that the quantity of goods bought fell 1.2% month on month in July, worse than average analyst forecasts of a 0.5% drop in sales volumes. It follows a 0.6% rise in June. Non-food retailers reported a 1.7% drop, after a 0.6% rise in June. “Retailers reported that the fall over the month was because of poor weather…

The change is likely to affect the amount of points shopper gain

Elementor #543257 August 17, 20231 Min Read Financial Times – Underlying inflation pressures keep heat on Bank of England rate-setters Summary of the Top 6 headlines today The FT reports underlying pressures remain on the Bank of England despite a drop in headline inflation. Borrowing costs are still set to rise which will prove a further pinch on people’s earnings, the paper writes. The news will put pressure on the Bank of England as it decides whether a further interest rate rise is needed to dampen inflation, the paper says. Today’s top stories Like this article? why don’t you share…

City AM – Pay growth will force rates higher Wage growth has ‘passed its peak’ as Andrew Bailey prepares to address City on interest rates CITY AM says Workers returning to the jobs markets and boosting the volume of candidates available to businesses are poised to put a lid on wage growth, analysts are predicting official numbers this week will show. Pay growth is said to have “passed its peak” after raging for more than a year, fuelled by staff demanding wage increases to compensate for inflation whittling away their finances. Regular pay – which strips out bonuses and other…

It will mark the the device’s 10th anniversary.