UK fuel prices drop for first time in months
The AA says a tank of fuel could be around £10 cheaper by August if wholesale prices continue to dip
Petrol and diesel prices are beginning to fall for the first time in months in the UK, having soared well beyond record levels and pushed the average price of a fill-up far north of £100.
The AA says the price of a tank of fuel has dipped by £1.50 since the beginning of the month, adding that if wholesale costs continue to fall at the same rate, drivers could see savings of £10 within two weeks.
Across the UK, pump prices have dropped to 188.76p per litre for petrol and 196.96p per litre for diesel. At the beginning of July, prices sat at 191.53p and 199.07p.
The high price of wholesale fuel has surged due to the soaring cost of crude oil, which has been driven up by the ongoing war in Ukraine.
"Wholesale petrol's trajectory, if sustained, would lead to savings of a tenner off a tank from the record highs, providing the fuel trade is prepared to pass them on,” Luke Bosdet, the AA's fuel price spokesman told the BBC.
"The problem is that, in many places, the price cuts are quite simply not happening despite more than six weeks of falling costs.”
This worry was echoed by a government watchdog, which promised a full review into how to stop the rising cost of fuel in the UK after it raised a “cause for concern”.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that there was, on average, a difference of around 10p per litre on the wholesale price of fuel being bought by retailers and what it was selling it for at the pumps.
However, even though the drop in wholesale fuel is now making its way to drivers, worry still remains that prices will need to plateau.
David Cox, an independent energy analyst, told the BBC that while oil prices have dipped, they are likely to remain elevated due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
"It's difficult to see how crude does anything but go up while the war rages, and that's not good news in the medium term for petrol prices," he said.
Another factor in the rising costs is down to Europe’s ambition to become less dependent on Russian supplies.
"The trouble is you just can't replace the volume of oil that Russia produces," Cox added.
"There might be minor changes up and down, but essentially crude is likely to keep marching upwards and that will keep the pressure on petrol prices upwards too."
