Brits cut back on petrol and diesel as cost of living crisis deepens

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The RAC has called on Big Four supermarkets such as Tesco to further cut fuel prices as diesel and petrol prices fell by around 9 per cent in December. 
Motorist groups have accused forecourts of profiteering as fuel prices are still too high compared to the wholesale petrol costs.

Brits are cutting back on petrol and diesel as they reduce the number of car journeys they make to save cash, revealed Ascona Group.

With households struggling amid a worsening cost of living crisis, the fuel operator has reported sales volumes were down 6-8 per cent over the last six weeks across its 60 domestic petrol stations.

Managing director of Ascona Group Darren Briggs, told the BBC: “We are seeing our customers making that £20-30 purchase of fuel last that little bit longer.”

This follows the Office for National Statistics revealing yesterday that people cutting back on car journeys was one of the factors in the UK economy shrinking by 0.1 per cent in March.

Petrol prices remain near record levels (Source: RAC Fuel Watch)

Prices peaked at £1.67 per litre for petrol and £1.80 per litre for diesel at UK forecourts in March following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and costs remain historically elevated amid global volatility.

This week, RAC Fuel Watch reported that unleaded petrol was still being traded at £1.65 per litre and diesel at £1.79, with higher prices baked into the market for months.

Surging fuel costs are contributing to the biggest squeeze on UK household incomes since at least the 1950s, alongside spiralling energy bills, food prices, and soaring inflation.

Earlier this week, John Allan, the chairman of Tesco, said shoppers had started to ration their food purchases.

He told BBC: “I was hearing for the first time for many years of customers saying to checkout staff: ‘stop when you get to 40 pounds…I don’t want to spend a penny over that.”