The organisation's latest data shows that mid-February average petrol prices now stand at 128.81p a litre; up 0.54p from a month ago.

Diesel prices have also reached a new record of 134.01p; up 1.26p on the mid-January average.

This compares to Europe where prices saw a 4.3% drop between the middle and end of January, reflecting a 4% drop in NW Europe wholesale costs in the same period.

Even with wholesale prices rising again in February, the European average petrol price on 7 February was still 3% lower than it had been three weeks before. In the UK, petrol cost 0.8% more and reached new record highs.

The AA says that if a 2p drop in the market cost of petrol been passed on to drivers, it would have wiped out most of January's VAT rise, helping to reduce inflationary pressure and the possibility of an interest rate rise.

In response, the AA is continuing to call for a published track of wholesale versus pump prices, as is available in the US, Australia and South East Asia. It added that greater price transparency would help protect the interests of retailers, consumers and Government.

And as well as urging for the fuel duty increase due on 1 April to be scrapped, the AA said it wants to see a fuel price regulator appointed, as is available with domestic energy, to help clarify price movements and price differences between neighbouring towns.

'It is irrelevant whether retailers are trying to compensate for lower volumes of sales or supermarkets are choosing to convert fuel cost savings into cut-price toilet cleaner offers. European fuel retailers are under similar strains yet they passed on much of the wholesale petrol price reduction. They also reduced diesel prices for a while,' said Edmund King, the AA's president.