Cost of filling up petrol tank surges by €10 in two weeks
Surging fuel costs have pushed up diesel and petrol prices by 11c and 22c a litre respectively in the past fortnight alone.
It will now cost €750 more this year to fuel a petrol car than the annual fuel cost last year, the latest survey from AA Ireland has revealed.
The AA says a typical car has the capacity to hold 50 litres of fuel, meaning a full tank of petrol will cost €11 more than two weeks ago with a full tank of diesel working out at €5.50 more than a fortnight ago.
Petrol prices have increased 11.5% in the last two weeks. This is up from an average of €1.91 per litre to €2.13 now.
Petrol is 41% more expensive than last year and 66% more expensive than two years ago, according to Paddy Comyn of AA Ireland.
Diesel is now 45pc more expensive than last year, rising from €1.41 per litre to €2.05 per litre.
Mr Comyn said: “It now costs the average motorist of a petrol car €750 more than last year to fill their car for a year – with the average diesel driver now spending €640 more per year than last year.”
The cost of diesel and petrol is having a huge impact on household budgets, especially for families living in rural areas who are more dependent on their cars to get around.
High prices for motor fuel have led to calls for larger cuts in the taxes on petrol and diesel. More than half of the cost per litre at the pumps is made up of taxes and levies.
Crude oil prices rocketed this year as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine compounded supply concerns, and as oil demand recovered from Covid-19 lockdowns, and that rise has been compounded by the weakness of the euro against the dollar. The American currency has surged to a 20-year high, inflating the cost of dollar-denominated goods such as crude oil.
Diesel and petrol are now trading at more than €2 a litre on Irish forecourts, in spite of the Government’s recent cut in excise duties.
