Fuel prices fall after record highs

Hard-pressed motorists have finally seen a dip in fuel prices from record levels.

The average price of a litre of petrol and diesel has fallen by nearly half a penny in recent days, the AA said.

November 2020 was the last time petrol prices fell by that much in a matter of days.

Petrol prices reached a peak of 147.72p per litre on Sunday November 21, while the all-time high for diesel was set at 151.10p per litre a day earlier.

Average prices on Tuesday had dropped to 147.28p for petrol and 150.64p for diesel.

The AA said the drop follows a decrease in wholesale costs, with petrol down 12p per litre since mid-November.

Luke Bosdet, the AA’s fuel price spokesman, said: “Such has been the dramatic fall in the wholesale cost of petrol and diesel that a fall in the pump prices has become inevitable.

“It’s just taken so much longer than has happened over recent years.”

Mr Bosdet said retailers usually hold their prices until supermarkets “seize the initiative” and make cuts, but that did not happened in this instance.

“Without that initial kick, pump prices have stagnated and that is a potentially worrying development if it sets the pattern for the future,” he warned.