Chart shows how high petrol and diesel prices have soared in recent weeks

Petrol and diesel prices are rising in the UK have soared since the start of 2021 and are close to hitting record highs, government figures show.

The average price of petrol at forecourts jumped by 0.6p to 146.95p per litre last week, the highest since it hit 147.53p in November last year, according to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

The new BEIS data showed the price of diesel increased by 0.8p to 151.10p per litre on Monday compared with last week.

The chart below shows how much prices have risen since January 2021.

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Prices have risen from around 115p for petrol and 120p for diesel in January 2021 to over 145p for petrol and 150p for diesel in February 2022.

It comes after separate figures from the AA suggested petrol and diesel prices both struck record highs over the weekend.

On Monday, the AA said its data showed the average price of petrol for British drivers surpassed 148p per litre for the first time.

It added the cost of diesel had also increased to a new record high of 151.57p per litre on Sunday.

Luke Bosdet, the AA’s fuel price spokesman, said: “The cost of living crisis has been ratcheted up yet another notch, tightening the vice on family spending when it faces other pressures from impending domestic energy cost and tax increases.”

Prices have soared on the back of wholesale fuel prices, which have jumped amid a resurgence in demand following the reopening of global economies but have also been spurred in recent days by concerns that Russian tensions could impact supply.

The price of crude oil pulled back on Tuesday morning amid reports Russia has moved some troops away from its border with Ukraine, resulting in 2.7% fall to 93.89 dollars per barrel.

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Rising prices at the pumps are one element of a growing cost of living crisis, with families facing record inflation, tax increases and soaring energy bills.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that average real-terms total pay in Britain remained lower than before the 2008 financial crisis.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), weekly earnings, including bonuses, for the three months to December, rose 4.3% year-on-year, compared with 4.2% growth for the quarter to November.

But once adjusted for inflation, total pay fell by 0.1% – the first negative growth since mid-2020.

It means real weekly wages are below the level reached in the months leading up to the 2008 economic crash.