Petrol prices drop to lowest levels since November after record-breaking surge
Petrol prices have fallen to their lowest levels since November, with the costs of both unleaded petrol and diesel dropping 0.2 per cent over the past week.
Prices at the pumps have fallen to 144.82p and 148.65p for unleaded petrol and diesel respectively.
This follows a decline in record wholesale gas costs, after the US sent a flotilla of tankers to the UK and Europe to replenish shortening stocks over Christmas.
While this has cut the UK’s natural gas prices from £4.53 per therm to £2.14 per therm, prices remain historically high and are way up from pre-pandemic expectation when costs were regularly below 50p per therm.
Petrol prices are also still approximately 28p higher than last year, and remain above the pre-crisis record of 142.94p and 146.5p for unleaded petrol and diesel in 2012.
Pump prices rallied to record highs last Autumn amid shortening supplies and increased consumer demand, forcing Chancellor Rishi Sunak to freeze fuel duty for the 12th consecutive year at last October’s budget.
However, UK forecourts remain under fire from motoring group RAC, which accused petrol retailers of failing to pass on wholesale price savings.
RAC revealed the average price of petrol fell by only 2p a litre over December, despite wholesale prices dropping around the festive season.
This meant UK drivers collectively paid £156m – over £5m a day – more for petrol than they should have.
Instead of taking the established margin of 6p a litre, retailers gobbled up an average of 16p a litre on petrol and 12.5p on diesel in December.
The data also suggested Asda had the cheapest petrol at the end of the year with a litre costing an average of 141.81p at their stores, with Sainsbury’s not far behind at 142.57p.