Petrol prices set to ease after hitting record highs

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The cost of wholesale fuel and the fall in global oil prices are likely to bring down the price of petrol.

The average price for a gallon of petrol went up to 1.63 on Sunday, after hitting.16 for the first time last week.

The AA said pump prices should not go up unless global oil prices go up again.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia caused oil costs to go up.

The AA said the price of filling up a 55 liter car tank has gone up.

The price of crude oil hit a 14-year high after Russia invaded Ukraine.

In the past few days, the price of oil has fallen as fears that the European Union would follow the US and Canada in banning Russian oil have lessened.

Early on Monday, the price of crude was $109 per barrel.

The RAC said drivers would have to stomach probably more rises this week, but added they should soon get some respite from pump prices jumping by several pence a liter 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, according to the RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams.

As the oil price has 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.

The way retailers buy fuel and the time it takes to sell it is the reason why prices at the pumps are likely to stay the same.

Retailers might be reluctant to lower their prices for fear of being caught out if wholesale costs go up again.

The AA's fuel price spokesman said that a slump in wholesale petrol costs on Wednesday and Thursday last week had produced "bizarre price anomalies".

In one town this weekend, filling a tank at one forecourt was more than a pound cheaper than across the road.

The rush by drivers to beat further price increases had pushed up demand at forecourts, which in turn led to higher prices at the pumps as stations had to replenish at a faster rate.

The price of crude oil and the dollar exchange rate determine the price of oil.

Russia is the third largest oil exporter and some Western countries decided to stop imports from the country in response to Russia's actions. Increased demand for oil from other producers leads to increased prices.

The UK only imports a small amount of oil from Russia, so it is not as dependent on Russia for the commodity supply as other European countries are.

The price is affected by global shifts.

The price of crude dropped in recent days due to reduced fears of a European ban on Russian oil and also due to speculation that more supplies could come onto the market from Iran, Venezuela and the United Arab Emirates.

Concerns have been raised by Western nations about where they get their energy from.

The UK's transition to cleaner forms of energy production was an issue of national security and not just of decarbonisation according to Energy Minister Greg Hands.

Speaking at an event in London, he said: "We will ensure that we are not dependent on any unfriendly foreign country to keep our homes warm and lit if we switch to cheaper power generated in the UK."

The transition to cleaner energy sources would take time, and there was still a need to invest in domestic fossil fuel production.