Drivers have been bit by soaring fuel prices for the fourth month in a row, the latest data shows.
Since the start of October the price per litre has increased by 5p for petrol and 6p for diesel, the RAC said.
This means that filling up your tank is now nearly £3 more expensive than it was at the start of October.
This has been partly attributed to a spike in oil prices in mid-January, which saw the cost of a barrel exceed 80 US dollars for several days.
This coupled with a slight weakening of the pound against the dollar has also made wholesale fuel more expensive for retailers.
At the end of January, the average price of a litre of petrol and diesel was 139.0p and 145.7p respectively.
RAC Fuel Watch data also showed the average price of a litre of unleaded bought at one of the big four supermarkets rose by 1.6p a litre to 134p and diesel by almost 2p to 141.6p.
Supermarket-bought petrol is currently 3.5p cheaper than the UK average, while diesel is 4p lower.
The average price of petrol at a motorway service station went up by 3.5p in January. Petrol is now 161.9p a litre and diesel 169.83p.
Looking at prices around the UK, excluding motorway services, England has the most expensive unleaded at an average of 138.5p, closely followed by Wales at 137.3p and Scotland 136.9p, with Northern Ireland far cheaper at 133.1p.
For diesel, England is again the dearest at 145.2p. Scotland and Wales are similar at 143.9p and 143.4p respectively, while Northern Ireland is just below 140p (137.9p).
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: ‘It’s not been a good start to 2025 for drivers at the pumps with prices going up for the fourth month in a row.
‘Sadly, filling up is now nearly £3 more expensive than it was at the start of October.
‘We hope this trend won’t continue and that prices drop back down again.
‘Much depends on global oil supply and demand. While the price of oil can be notoriously volatile, there’s reason to think forecourt fuel prices may get cheaper in the coming months as some analysts are predicting an average oil price nearer to 70 US dollars this year.’