For the first time since November 3, 2021, the price of unleaded petrol had fallen to 144.95p on Sunday, May 14. This will come as a welcome surprise for drivers who have dealt with extortionate fuel prices for 18 months.
Diesel drivers also have reason to celebrate with prices dipping below 155p a litre when motorists saw average prices hit 154.31p on Sunday.
Thanks to the changes, the cost to fill a 55-litre family car with petrol is now under £80 (£79.72) while a tank of diesel has reduced to slightly below £85.
Fuel prices peaked at the end of June and the beginning of July, when petrol breached 191p per litre and diesel reached an all-time record high at 199.09p.
Since then motorists have been able to save an average of £25.60 for petrol and £24.62 for diesel.
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Commenting on the fuel price changes, Simon Williams, spokesperson for the RAC, said: “Seeing the price of unleaded fall back under 145p a litre for the first time in 18 months is good news for the country’s 19 million petrol car drivers.
“This means it’s now nearly £26 cheaper to fill up a family-sized petrol car this summer compared to last year when a litre hit the record price of 191.5p.”
He acknowledged that it was a positive step for diesel drivers too, despite massive wholesale cost changes in recent months.
Since late March, the wholesale price of diesel has been cheaper than petrol, but most forecourts have failed to pass on the savings to drivers.
There are around 12 million diesel cars on the road in the UK, with experts stating that the fuel type should be up to 20p less per litre.
Mr Williams added: “This is being demonstrated very powerfully by one independent retailer in Shropshire who is currently charging 131.9p – more than 22p below the UK average.
“We hope this finally embarrasses the country’s biggest retailers to cut their pump prices significantly.
“With the delivered wholesale prices of both petrol and diesel at 110p and 105p respectively, drivers should be paying no more than 142p and 137p, and that’s factoring in an above-average 10p-a-litre retailer margin.”
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Yesterday, a report from the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) highlighted how pump prices were negatively affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and retailers not cutting prices fast enough.
The Government regulator found that supermarkets were partly responsible for the high prices and criticised their involvement in the report.
Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said they had not been “sufficiently forthcoming” in their approach to the market review.
A final report is expected no later than July 7, with the CMA expected to conduct formal interviews with supermarket bosses to “get to the heart of the issue”.
Commenting on the report, Grant Shapps, Energy Secretary, said: “We won’t stand for motorists being treated like cash cows and ripped off at the pumps.
“Fuel prices are falling so there is absolutely no excuse for retailers to not pass those savings on.
“Supermarket bosses must fully cooperate with the watchdog’s investigation and if they refuse to play ball I won’t hesitate to take action.”
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