Diesel has fallen below £1.60 a liter for the first time in over a year, but it’s still 13p more expensive than petrol
The average price of diesel in the UK has fallen below £1.60 a liter for the first time in 13 months, the AA confirmed on Friday morning.
The average price of the fuel at the pumps has fallen to 159.39 pence per liter this week, marking the first time it has fallen below 160 pence since March 2022.
However, the AA says nearly an extra 13p-a-litre that lumps the fuel trade onto the average pump price continues to plague the cost of delivery of goods and services, including to the NHS.
Diesel prices fall: The average fuel price in the UK fell below £1.60 a liter this week for the first time in 13 months. However, it is still 13 cents per liter more expensive than gasoline
On Thursday, the average pump price of diesel fell below the limit of 160 cents per liter for the first time since March 3, 2022.
Since then, the price of diesel rose to a new all-time high of 199.07 pence last July, sending costs skyrocketing for some motorists and many business operators.
The reduction of 39.68 pa liters since the peak on 1 July 2022 has saved £31.75 on the cost of filling up the 80 liter fuel tank of a Transit-type van, from £159.26 last summer to £127. 51 today.
Diesel at the pump, however, remains on average almost 13 cents per liter more expensive than petrol.
This is despite the fact that the wholesale price of diesel has been cheaper than unleaded for over a month now.
The AA says diesel leaving refineries and fuel depots this week has become more than 5p a liter cheaper than petrol going to UK filling stations in tankers.
Gasoline averaged 146.50 pa-litres on Thursday this week, after peaking at a record 191.53 p at the beginning of July last year.
The automotive group had signaled earlier this week that lead-free was showing signs of an increase this week as the typical cost of a barrel of oil has risen by more than $10 (£8.05) since mid-March after oil producer group Opec cut production in a surprise move.
A slight increase in the price of petrol earlier this week came after a sustained downward trend that lasted for 22 weeks, starting on October 30 when the average was 166.5 pence per litre.
Commenting on diesel falling below £1.60 a liter this week, AA spokesman Luke Bosdet said: ‘Diesel may have been demonized in major cities for its contribution to low pollution in urban environments, but it remains the workhorse fuel of the transport. , deliveries and services.
Businesses and services that rely on diesel to operate have had to raise their rates to reflect rising costs.
‘Many introduced a system of fuel surcharges that rise or fall with the average pump price of diesel.
“Average prices for diesel pumps that remain higher than they should be are not only a piece of cake for the private car owner, but also do not help alleviate cost pressures on companies. That is passed on to customers and consumers and keeps inflation higher than it would otherwise be.
“A dip check of some of these delivery surcharges shows that inflated fuel trade margins add at least 1 per cent to bills and contribute to NHS costs.”