MOTORISTS may soon face a return to record petrol prices, it is claimed.

A 2.5% rise in UK pump prices over the past month puts road fuel costs back on the path that led to six weeks of record prices earlier this year, according to motoring organisation the AA.

In the past month, average petrol prices have risen by more than 3p a litre from 132.18p a litre in mid-July to 135.52 this week.

Diesel is up by 3.19p a litre at an average of 140.45p against 137.26p in the middle of last month.

Diesel is already more expensive than this time last year when a litre cost 140.32p. Petrol a year ago averaged 136.18p a litre – just 0.66p a litre higher than it is now.

Petrol prices on the forecourt hit a record high in April this year at 142.48p a litre. The summer’s lowest was 130.81p a litre at the start of July.

Figures from the AA show that across the UK, Yorkshire remains the cheapest area for petrol with an average of 135p a litre – although London is unusually third-cheapest at 135.2p.

In Huddersfield, prices range from 132.7p and 144.9p a litre for petrol and 136.9p to 150.9p a litre for diesel.

Bernard Stern, of Paddock-based CJ Stern (Oils) Ltd, said prices at the company’s sites had risen by 2p to 3p a litre in recent weeks – taking petrol to 134.0p a litre and diesel to 138.9p a litre.

And he said: “The trend is definitely upwards. Prices at the pumps are linked to the barrel price or duty increases and crude oil is now about $114 a barrel having been below $100.

“It is all very inflationary. Petrol prices are likely to continue rising, at least in the short-term.”

AA spokesman Paul Watters said: “Once upon a time, petrol prices would rise heading into the summer due to higher demand for the motoring season, then fall away late summer onwards.

“The cost of diesel would then pick up heading into winter as demand for heating oil came into play.

“These days, demand appears to be increasingly irrelevant. It doesn’t matter how much drivers cut back, the commodity markets always seek to find a reason for pumping up oil and wholesale prices.

“Falling pump prices in the UK lasted just 75 days and now they’re heading up at a rate which once again threatens to undermine the Bank of England’s inflation target. £10 has been added to the monthly petrol costs of a two-car family in the UK.”