Drivers this morning passed a sad UK milestone today, with the price of standard petrol surpassing £100 per tank for the first time, according to the RAC.
Record highs have been set for petrol with a 55-litre tank setting motorists back £100.27, while the same volume of diesel is sitting around £103.43.
This means that Petrol is 182.31p per litre on average today rising 1.5p from yesterday, with diesel also rising 1.4p to 188.05p per litre in the last 24 hours.
Read more: Petrol to hit £2 per litre, RAC warns, and motorway services are already charging more than that
The Mirror reports the soaring cost of driving is becoming a national crisis, according to the RAC.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: "It’s a truly dark day today for drivers with petrol now crossing the thoroughly depressing threshold of £100 a tank.
“While fuel prices have been setting new records on a daily basis, households up and down the country may never have expected to see the cost of filling an average-sized family car reach three figures."
However, the AA said fuel price prices may be about to tail off, as oil wholesale prices are falling.
RAC research found that up to 80% of Brits are reliant on their cars.
Williams added: "A further duty cut or a temporary reduction in VAT would go a long way towards helping drivers, especially those on lower incomes who have no choice other than to drive.
“It’s also important to remember that the Government is still benefitting from the high fuel prices by taking around 30p in VAT from every litre sold. This compares to just 25p before Russia invaded Ukraine."
The RAC petrol price index is based on data from Experian. Other organisations, including the government, have their own petrol price figures.
Why are petrol and diesel prices so high?
Simply, oil prices are rising because it is more in demand and this has been made worse by the war in Ukraine. There were already shortages that sent fuel skyrocketing last year and now businesses are cutting off ties to Russian oil.
This means that the current crisis could well get worse - and more expensive. The UK only gets around 6-8% of its crude oil from Russia and a 2020 Autocar report estimates around 18% of UK diesel is from the country.
This is not the same for much of Europe - around half of the barrels of oil Russia produces every day goes to the continent, with the country the world's third-biggest supplier of oil.
The UK is hoping to totally phase out the use of Russian oil by the end of 2022. The EU is far more reliant on oil and has so far committed to drop its usage by around two-thirds.
With countries turning away from Russian oil, there is demand for it elsewhere, which pushes the prices up. Labour has spoken out about high fuel costs and called for a 'windfall tax' on fuel giants to help hard-up Brits.
What do you make of fuel prices rising? Will you be holding off from filling up?
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