Fuel prices should ‘begin to come down’ as wholesale costs fall

Pump prices in the UK have risen by 25p per litre for petrol and 49p per litre for diesel since the war began on February 28

Picture: Chani Anderson.

Fuel prices should fall in the coming days after large increases caused by the conflict in the Middle East, according to new analysis in the UK.

The RAC said it expects the price of a litre of petrol and diesel to drop by “several pence” in the short-term.

Average pump prices at UK forecourts on Tuesday were up a fraction of a penny from Monday, reaching 158.3p per litre for petrol and 191.5p per litre for diesel.

They have risen by 25p per litre for petrol and 49p per litre for diesel since the day the war began on February 28.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “Pump prices appear to have finally stopped rising after 43 days of increases.

“Wholesale fuel costs are now significantly lower than they were at the start of the month, so forecourt prices should now begin to come down.

“As things stand, we’d expect petrol and diesel to drop by several pence a litre in the next week or so.” Mr Williams said it will be “very interesting to see if this plays out as the data indicates”.

He went on: “We hope it does as drivers could do with some relief at the pumps, with a tank of petrol for a family car now costing £87 and the diesel equivalent £105 – £14 and £27 more than they did at the start of the conflict.” Motoring research charity the RAC Foundation estimated that rises in pump prices since the start of the war have led to motorists’ fuel bills being £1.2 billion higher.

This is based on average daily pump price rises and last year’s fuel consumption rate.