Petrol and diesel pump prices hit new highs at the weekend but a fallback in the oil price should see prices start to ease in the coming days.

The five-point fuel plan should help fleets to maximise mileage from the fuel that they can obtain and also to understand their fuel use better over time

Petrol reached a new record UK average of 163.46p a litre on Sunday (13 March), up by 2.5p from Thursday. And diesel rose to 173.67p on Saturday, up 3.5p from two days earlier, RAC data has revealed.

Further price rises are almost certain, as rocketing oil prices continue to hit wholesale costs and wash through to the price drivers pay at the pumps – the RAC has warned the average price of petrol is like to reach £1.65 a litre within the next day or so.

But with oil prices appearing to have settled, after peaking early last week at $137 a barrel, it says drivers should soon get some respite.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams commented: “As the oil price has now fallen back, we should hopefully reach the peak and start to see prices going the other way to reflect the big drop in wholesale costs seen at the end of last week, subject to no further spikes in the barrel price this week.”

Already, the surging pump prices have led to a 200% rise in the number of motorists leaving petrol stations without paying, according to the Daily Telegraph.

It’s revealed data from the British Oil Security Syndicate, which shows that the overall cost of such theft to the industry is now estimated to be above £100m, up from £88m in 2019.

Meanwhile, police are believed to be bringing in special measures to reduce forecourt crime, including those motorists who say they’ll return later but fail to do so.

Current UK average pump prices: