Fleets and drivers are being warned of an “inevitable” rise in fuel prices after OPEC+’s announcement yesterday of deep production cuts.

The deep production cuts have raised fears that fuel prices will rise swiftly

Agreed at a meeting in Vienna between oil-producing cartel OPEC and allies including Russia, the cut of two million barrels per day of output – equal to 2% of global supply – was said to be necessary due to rising interest rates in the West and a weaker global economy.

But the move further tightens supply in an already constrained market and has angered the Biden administration in the US, which called the surprise decision short-sighted.

The first large production cut in more than two years, it’s seen as a geopolitical move to retaliate at efforts by the US and Europe to drive down oil and fuel prices and hit at Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

It’s now raised fears that fuel prices will rise swiftly.

Pump prices had been falling in recent months after a drop in the price of oil. RAC data published only yesterday showed the average price of petrol fell by nearly 7p a litre to 162.89p in September. This meant the cost of a full 55-litre tank of fuel had dropped below the £90 mark for the first time since the start of May.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “Such a deep oil production cut will inevitably see oil prices rise, forcing up the wholesale cost of fuel. The question is when, and to what extent, retailers choose to pass these increased costs on at their forecourts. Despite three straight months of pump prices coming down, we believe that in many cases drivers are being charged more to fill up today than they should be based on average wholesale prices over the last few weeks. If we see pump prices go up within the next fortnight, we’ll know that retailers are sticking to their strategy of taking far more margin on every litre they sell than they have historically – much to the dismay of drivers up and down the country.

“We’ll be watching what retailers do when it comes to pump prices closely in the next few weeks.”