The price of filling a typical family car with petrol has hit £100 for the first time, according to figures released on Thursday.
Simon Williams, fuel spokesperson for the RAC, said the price hike marked a “dark day” as the cost of filling a 55-litre tank hit £100.27p.
The average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts reached a record 182.3p on Wednesday, according to data firm Experian Catalist. That was an increase of 1.6p compared with the previous day.
It followed a 2.2p jump on Monday - the largest daily increase for 17 years.
Meanwhile, the average price of a litre of diesel on Wednesday was a record 188.1p.
RAC fuel spokesperson Simon Williams said: “With average prices so high – 182.31p for a litre of unleaded and 188.05p for diesel – there’s almost certainly going to be upward inflationary pressure which is bad news for everybody.
“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.
“With RAC research showing as many as eight-in-10 depend on their cars many must be wondering if any further financial support from the Government will be forthcoming.”
He added: “March’s 5p fuel duty cut now looks paltry as wholesale petrol costs have already increased by five-times that amount since the Spring Statement (25p).
“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 comes as a Cabinet minister warned fuel retailers against ignoring the Treasury’s 5p fuel duty cut.
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said the Chancellor is keeping “under review all the measures” to ensure retailers complied with the Treasury’s fuel duty cut.
He said: “One of the things we do need to do is to make sure that every forecourt, every outlet, is making sure that it doesn’t take advantage of this situation to build up excess profits.”
Mr Gove added that the Government would need to “keep an eagle eye in order to make sure we don’t have a situation where companies are taking unfair advantage of consumers”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said transparency around which companies were not passing on the fuel duty cut “may have an important role to play”.
“It is important the public understand what actions each of the fuel retailers are taking and so we are considering what further options we can take in this area.”
