Sheffield fuel prices: City's cheapest stations prices rise 10 per cent in past fortnight as Chancellor announces 5p cut to duty

Motorists are facing record prices at the pumps as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to squeeze demand on crude oil.

Now, data shows how the rising prices have hit Sheffield, where the cheapest petrol stations have put up their prices by 10.5 per cent – around 11p – on average in the past two weeks.

Over the past month, The Star has been updating readers on where to find the cheapest petrol and diesel in the city.

By comparing the first of these stories on March 8 to the latest figures from March 23, it shows how prices have risen.

Sainsbury’s Archer Road station – consistently the cheapest in Sheffield – has risen 11.6 per cent, or 12p, from 145.7p for a litre of unleaded to 162.9p.

Similarly, Morrisons Meadowhead has risen by 10p, Co-Op Birley Moor is up by 11p, and the Shell on Ecclesall Road has risen by 13p.

However, the average price of a litre of petrol has risen by more than 40p since last year's Spring Statement

Diesel prices are up by nearly 50p a litre, almost 9p of which is VAT.

It comes as Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced on Wednesday (March 23) that fuel duty would be cut by 5p per litre.

The RAC estimates this will be a saving of £3.30 for a full 55-litre tank on a family car, commenting the cut was a “drop in the ocean” given the ongoing rise in fuel costs.

The motoring group estimated this week the cost of filling an average family car with petrol at more than £92 and nearly £99 for diesel.

The duty cut does not obligate petrol companies to reflect the cut in their prices, as it is charged on wholesale purchases, and might not reach motorists until retailers buy new fuel at the lower rate.

In fact, the announcement came with Mr Sunak and the Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng writing an open letter to petrol station operators to pass on the saving when the cut came into effect at 6pm on March 23. It is set to last for 12 months.

The saving has been met with a mixed reaction. In some parts of England, motorists have pointed out they saw have seen a 6p price increase this week alone.

Mr Sunak today also announced an increase to the national insurance threshold of £3,000, such that people earning up to about £34,000 will be better off – but once you start, the rate will be higher than it was last year (13.25 per cent instead of 12 per cent).

The Chancellor also pledged to cut the lowest rate of income tax by 1%.

It comes as the Office for National Statistics reported that inflation has risen to 6.2 per cent, the highest for 30 years.

MP for Sheffield Heeley, Louise Haigh, said: “The Chancellors announcement today will do nothing for many people in Sheffield. The Chancellor has, once again, failed to understand the scale of the challenge that many people face.

"His actions will push more and more children and pensioners into poverty - a damning indictment of this government's record.”