Fuel prices drop after four months of rise misery

The price of petrol and diesel has fallen, ending four consecutive months of rises.

The average price of unleaded dropped by just over 3p a litre in June from 130.67p to 127.62p, while diesel fell from 135.51p to 130.90p.

It reflects a dramatic fall in the cost of oil, which recently dipped to $62 (circa £49) a barrel.

Yet despite the wholesale cost of petrol falling to 95.79p a litre – its lowest since March – the price at the pump didn't reflect the drop. Back in March, when the wholesale price was nearly the same, unleaded fuel sat at 123p a litre.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: "It's great to see pump prices falling for the first time since January, but the reductions should have been greater based on the substantial decrease in the wholesale price.

"Retailers were clearly banking on the oil price rebounding after its sudden drop, which began at the end of May when a barrel was over $70. Inevitably, this has meant bad news for drivers, who have lost out with pump prices being 4p a litre more expensive than they should have been.

"Unfortunately, retailers' hunch that oil would quickly increase again was right and now their prices are broadly where they should be based on the current wholesale price. They just happen to have made significant profits as a result of not passing on more of the savings to drivers than they did."

This latest drop means the cost of filling up an average 55-litre family car fell by £1.68 to £70.19. The saving on a tank of diesel was even more apparent, costing £2.54 less – down to £72. It was the ninth biggest monthly reduction in the price of diesel since 2000.