News : Pump prices tipped to hit two year low

Dan Powell

Petrol

The RAC believes that the average price of petrol and diesel will drop by as much as 4p per litre in the coming weeks, following a fall in the wholesale cost of fuel. The reduction – 4p in petrol and 2p in diesel – would mean average prices of around 129p and 137p respectively – taking the cost of fuel down to 2011 levels.

The announcement follows the news that Britain’s supermarkets are going to war at the forecourt, with Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco all announcing significant cuts in the price of petrol and diesel. The 12-month retail price high points for both petrol and diesel came on 5 March 2013, with unleaded at an average price of 140.03p and diesel 146.46p. Unleaded reached a 12-month average retail low on 8 January at 131.93p whereas diesel’s low came on 13 May at 138.05p.

However, since May, prices of both fuels began to slowly rise again until they were reversed by the supermarkets’ mid-September reductions. The RAC is confident fuel retailers will continue to pass on reductions in the wholesale price of petrol and diesel to further ease pressure at the pumps for motorists.

The RAC’s Head of External Affairs, Pete Williams, said: ‘Fuel retailers have clearly demonstrated the transparency of their operations by cutting more off a litre of fuel than many people will be able to remember. As well as saving people hard-earned cash at the pumps, this level of transparency has no doubt created a lot of goodwill with their customers. Motorists often complain that prices seem to go up far faster than they come down, but this autumn is proof that this is not necessarily the case.’

Keith Adams

17 Comments

  1. Whilst this is very welcome, I wonder how long it will take HM government to use this as an excuse to put up fuel duty? If this holds until next March’s budget then its obvious what will happen.

  2. With regard to fuel duty and how much the economy NEEDS the motorist, I always thought it would be funny for all of us drivers to not use our cars for a week. Then see how long it takes before the government is on bended knee begging us to get driving again…..

  3. Great news. The increasing strength of sterling against the dollar and the calming of tensions in Syria have both contributed to this. Hopefully it will go some way towards silencing the “boohoo, petrol is SOOOO expensive” doom-mongers…

  4. How old is the picture accompanying this article? Lamborghini Countach and red Doc Martins – I’m guessing mid 80s…

  5. @2 This is what happened in late 2008 when half the country got made redundant. Traffic levels dropped, petrol sales plummeted and prices fell from 125p/litre to 99p/litre within months.

  6. @3 – excel monkey — It still is expensive. Well, the fuel itself isn’t, all the tax on top however….

  7. Also in 2008 prices went up for a while due to a hurricane affecting the North American supply & demand, then dropped suddenly.

  8. Remember the widespread fuel duty protests in GB, when petrol was around 80p a litre?

    I do sometimes worry that oil is a finite resource and seems ever harder to source.

    Fuel sourcing nations are a political quagmire, especially regarding the middle east.

    And lets not forget that a lot of fuel price increases are due to speculators on the commodities markets, the rich get ever richer.

  9. @8, A very good point. Imagine everyone stopping driving for a week, then someone would listen for once.

  10. Excel Monkey – Red DM’s and Countach? Ask the gaffer….. As an aside I happily purchased £60 of BP ultimate at £1.33 earlier.

  11. The oil price has just creeped back up to $110, so cheap fuel isn’t gonna last unfortunately, well not unless the dollar plummets (not unconceivable if the debt ceiling talks go nowhere).

    In the longer term Russia has just started work on the huge unconventional Bazhenov oil field and Brazil is beginning to extract from it’s massive offshore reserves. Even North Sea oil is set for a renaissance, meanwhile China and India’s economies are slowing and America’s demand seems to have finally peaked.

    So in the medium term we could have another cheap oil decade, hopefully this one will turn out like the 60s (muscle cars) not like the 90s (hideous SUVs).

  12. I can remember the energy crisis of 1979 when petrol rocketed from 76 pence a gallon in April to £ 1.28 by the end of the year and then rose to £ 1.76 by 1982. However, in real terms petrol prices fell by 25 per cent in the eighties as the price seemed to settle around the £ 1.70- £ 1.80 mark. Also big increases in fuel economy during the decade probably made driving even cheaper.

  13. I don’t think younger drivers realise how much difference 5p a litre makes to the price of a gallon of fuel. Asda near me sells it for £1.28.9 a litre whereas the Texaco garage near it is asking £1.36.9 and people are still buying it!

    That’s almost 35p a gallon dearer!

  14. On Wellington Road (A6) there is a BP next to where I work that always seems to be priced higher than some a bit further up the road.

    The next filling station is normally 4 – 5p per litre cheaper even though it’s nearer to Stockport town centre & going toward Manchester.

    The next 2 heading toward Manchester (over the council boundry) are normally cheap as well.

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