Petrol prices in biggest fall since 2008
22/10/2013
According to the AA, petrol prices have fallen by 5.49 pence per litre, which is officially the biggest fall since November 2008, when prices fell by 11.5 pence.
The current petrol price now stands at 132.16p, according to the motorists’ lobbying group, whilst the price of diesel has fallen from 142.5 pence per litre to 139.12 pence. This is believed to translate into a saving of more than £2.50 for a full tank of petrol in an average car, whilst Edmund King, President of the AA claimed that this saving was “a dramatic improvement on its own” and further went on to point out that the timing couldn’t be better as we head into winter and cars start to use more fuel.
The UK is traditionally one of the most expensive places in Europe to buy petrol, with this being blamed on high levels of tax and poor refinery capacity. In general the UK is the seventh most expensive place to buy petrol in Europe and the second most expensive for diesel. The price of petrol is further exacerbated in Northern Ireland where the average price stands at 132.9 pence per litre, with London, North England and Yorkshire the cheapest at 131.9 pence per litre.
However, the AA has warned that further price decreases were unlikely due to the reductions being specifically linked to lower wholesale prices, whilst other factors include poor refinery capacity in the UK and the likelihood that the dollar will strengthen against the pound.
Despite this, there has been some encouragement that prices could decrease further. This is particularly likely amongst supermarkets, such as Sainsbury’s and Asda who are reflecting the change in wholesale prices with price reductions, whilst non-supermarket retailers are believed to be beginning to challenge supermarket prices.
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