Petrol prices have risen by almost 10 per cent since January, according to a new survey from AA Roadwatch.
The study shows the price of petrol rose again this month and is up by 2.6c to €1.34 per litre on average. The cost of diesel also increased, rising by 3.5 cents a litre to an average of €1.25 per litre.
AA Roadwatch said petrol prices have risen by 12c per litre since the beginning of the year when the average cost per litre of unleaded was 122.4c. The cost of diesel has jumped by 9 per cent or 10.5 cents from January.
AA Roadwatch's director of policy Conor Faughnan said prices are edging up towards the peak prices recorded in 2008.
In May 2009 when fuel prices declined worldwide as a result of the economic downturn, a litre of petrol cost €1.08 and diesel was at €0.99.
“An Irish driver typically uses 150 litres of fuel per month meaning that the average monthly bill has risen from €163 to €201," he said.
While fuel prices have been increasing, the cost of a barrel of oil on world markets dropped sharply to approximately $70 this month, a decrease of more than $10. However, those gains have been offset in part by the fall in the value of the euro.
Mr Faughan said other factors had also impacted on prices locally. “World factors like oil and the dollar are only part of the story. The bigger issue is tax," he said.
"Of your €200 or so monthly fuel bill, more than €120 goes directly to the government in tax. In adding to that amount in the last budget through the cynically and quite falsely named carbon tax it has been the Irish government, rather than the global economy, which has pushed up our cost of living.”
Although Irish drivers are paying significantly more for fuel than they did a year ago, prices here compare favourably with other euro zone member states.
Ireland has the fifth lowest prices in the 16-country region with the average cost per litre costing as much as €1.58 for petrol and €1.32 for diesel in the Netherlands.
