UK fuel prices fall for the first time since March

The price of petrol and diesel at UK forecourts has fallen for the first time in four months thanks to a decrease in the value of crude oil.

Pump prices had been steadily increasing since March, but figures from the RAC show the average price of petrol has fallen by 0.41 pence to 111.79 pence. Diesel prices fell by a smaller margin, with the average cost per litre now 112.41 pence – 0.06 pence lower than the previous month.

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The RAC said supermarket forecourts have offered customers the biggest savings, with as much as two pence per litre lopped off prices in some cases. In terms of regions, motorists in the East Midlands have seen the biggest savings, with petrol prices 1.53 pence down on the previous month and diesel prices 0.95 pence lower.

The pump price decreases are the result of a drop in the value of crude oil, of which barrel prices fell from £36.16 to £31.31 on 29 July.

The RAC said the decrease will help families save money over the summer holidays but added that lower pump prices should have happened sooner because oil prices had fallen before the end of last month. “It came more than a week later than it should have done,” said RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams.

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Williams said the falling price of fuel on the wholesale market was being driven by fears of slowing global economic growth, adding to an existing oversupply of both crude oil and refined products such as petrol and diesel. “This has happened at a time when there are oil supply disruptions in Nigeria and Libya, which, had they not occurred, would have meant there was even more oil on the world market,” he said.

Today’s petrol prices are close to five pence per litre cheaper than they were one year ago. Diesel prices are three pence per litre lower than in 2015.