Diesel cost falls by a record 12p as prices plummet at Britain’s pumps
Finally good news for drivers! Diesel costs fall by a record 12 pence as UK pump prices plummet
- Price drop has cut the cost of filling a typical family car by around £6.50
Diesel prices fell by a record nearly 12 pence per liter last month, figures show.
The RAC said the average price of fuel at petrol stations in the UK fell from 158.9 pence to 147.0 pence in May.
Despite this being the largest monthly cut since the car company began tracking fuel prices in 2000, it believed the cut should have been larger to fully reflect changes in the wholesale market.
The price drop has cut the cost of filling a typical 55-litre family car by around £6.50.
May was the seventh consecutive month in which pump prices fell. The average price of a liter of petrol fell by more than 3 pence last month from 146.5 pence to 143.3 pence.
The RAC said the average price of fuel at petrol stations in the UK fell from 158.9 pence to 147.0 pence in May
On May 15, the watchdog of the Competition and Markets Authority reported that there are indications that higher pump prices in 2022 “seem, in part, to indicate some weakening of competition.”
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: ‘A 12p reduction in the price of diesel in one month is something we have not seen in nearly 23 years of price monitoring.’
But prices in Scotland are still 6.64p higher than in Northern Ireland, where the Consumer Council publishes the cheapest and average fuel prices in each city.
Mr Williams said: ‘We’re sure retailers in Northern Ireland are still making money – they’ve just done the right thing for their customers by lowering prices now that wholesale costs have come down.
‘The fact that the supermarkets there have less of a stranglehold on the fuel retail trade may have something to do with that.’
Diesel prices plummeted at their fastest ever pace in Scotland last month, a much-needed pick-me-up for motorists.
Costs fell by a record 11.45 pence in May, saving around £6.18 per tank for a typical 55-litre car.
The average price of diesel was 145.13 pence at the end of the month, according to figures from the RAC.
The price drop has reduced the cost of filling a typical 55-litre family car by around £6.50
Petrol prices also fell, albeit less dramatically by 2.62 pence per litre, to an average of 143.12 pence.
AA fuel price spokesman Luke Bosdet added: ‘There is nothing stopping Scotland from emulating the NI Fuel Price Checker. However, I suspect the government in Scotland is more interested in trying to relieve drivers of their money, through workplace parking charges and fines, than helping them through a cost-of-living crisis.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: ‘Tools to help consumers find the cheapest fuel prices are readily available online. We expect gas stations to charge a fair price to all consumers and to advertise it in a transparent and understandable manner.
‘The Scottish Government has raised inconsistent pricing between urban and rural areas with the CMA as a key issue for the research they undertake.’