THE SNP have again called for the UK Government to act on fuel prices at the pump as drivers continue to pay over the odds to fill up at forecourts.

Prices of 131p a litre for petrol and 137p diesel are the highest they’ve been since the summer of 2014.

But motoring experts have told the Sunday National they are “bemused” as to why supermarkets and independent petrol stations haven’t dropped their prices when the wholesale petrol price has fallen and diesel remains steady.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “Prices are very high just now. Our calculations make it 5p a litre too high and retailers are not lowering it.

“This is very real proof of the fact that fuel prices go ‘up like a rocket and down like a feather’. The big four supermarkets who sell the most fuel haven’t cut their prices and they really should have, probably a couple of weeks ago is when we would have expected to see prices start to fall.”

Williams said supermarket forecourt owners, who sell 45% of all fuel in the UK, should take the lead in lowering prices for all drivers instead of trying to engage customers with money-off vouchers to use at petrol stations after a big spend in-store, adding: “We really urge them to play fair with the motoring public and reduce the price of petrol by up to 5p a litre.

“Independent retailers are in a different situation because they don’t buy as much fuel, but they are led by the supermarkets. If the big four [supermarkets] reduce the price then others will follow.”

The Sunday National contacted Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons to ask about why they haven’t reduced prices in line with falling wholesale costs, however only Morrisons would comment, saying: “We always try to keep our fuel prices as low as we can, and far below the UK average.”

Minister for Energy Paul Wheelhouse said yesterday that a fuel duty regulator would help to protect consumers and reiterated that the Scottish Government wants the UK Government to put the mechanism in place.

A regulator could lower the percentage of duty in each pound spent at the pump, which could instantly lower the cost for drivers.

Wheelhouse said: “We have long argued that the UK Government should establish a fuel duty regulator because they have the ability to ease the burden of sudden, sharp changes in fuel prices on motorists and businesses – taxes form two-thirds of the UK-wide petrol and diesel prices which customers pay at the pumps. Predictability of prices is key – it is unfair that motorists face a double whammy of automatic rises in additional VAT paid because of sudden and unexpected increases in oil prices feeding through to wholesale petrol and diesel prices. In those circumstances, a fuel duty regulator could lower duty to ensure the overall tax take per litre is the same.”

Howard Cox, of campaign group Fair Fuel UK, told the Sunday National that it is time for government to step in and help drivers with the cost of filling up their cars.

He said: “The pump prices lottery game continues to go unmonitored. Hard-pressed motorists, hauliers and van drivers haven’t a clue when oil prices fluctuate what they will pay when filling up.

“The one certainty, though, is the fuel supply chain goes unchecked as they see their profits rocket, every day rubbing salt into the wounds of the highest taxed drivers in the world.”