Gas prices shot up nearly a third in the last week of July to reach the highest average cost since mid-March, according to new data.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that the National Grid saw the average price for gas increased by 31% to 9.8p per kilowatt hour over the week to July 31.

Energy prices have risen significantly in recent months with prices surging by two thirds in the first week of March, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Prices have been rising steadily since mid-May, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday.

It comes as energy giant BP revealed its second-quarter profits more than trebled to reach a 14-year high, sparking anger from political groups over energy companies’ soaring earnings.

Spending on car fuel jumped 9% in the week to July 31 compared to the previous week, ONS’s report found.

It was also a 54% increase on the previous year and more than double the average amount spent in February 2020 before the pandemic struck.

Fuel prices hit their highest-ever levels earlier this summer as the UK’s cost-of-living crisis worsened.

But major retailers are failing to lower petrol prices in line with wholesale costs of unleaded petrol dropping over the past two months, the RAC said this week.

Retail spending also jumped 18% in the last week of July compared to the previous week as people hit the shops during the schools holidays.

Meanwhile, spending on entertainment increased 10% in the same period but remained the only sector where people have cut spending since before the pandemic.