Chancellor Philip Hammond has kept fuel duty frozen at its current rate until 2018, following on from the announcement in the Autumn Statement.

Fuel duty will stay frozen at the current rate.

Confirmed in the Spring Budget documents, the freeze means that fuel duty has been held at 57.95p per litre since the March 2011 Budget. 

The news was welcomed by Howard Cox, founder of the FairFuelUK campaign, who said: “We are grateful for the last seven years, the Government has been listening to our objective campaigning on behalf motorists, van drivers and hauliers.”

However, LeasePlan UK’s managing director, Matt Dyer, highlighted that the UK still has one of the highest levels of taxation on fuel, which places an undue burden on motorists.

“This, it can be argued, restricts economic growth through lost investment and expansion by businesses,” he said.

“With inflation increasing, a litre of petrol has gone up by 19 pence in the last 12 months, whilst for diesel it’s 22 pence. Managing increases to the cost of living is likely to be one of Philip Hammond’s greatest challenges.”

For more information on the Budget, click here.