June sees forecourt fuel fall by 2p a litre for second month in a row
Fuel prices have fallen by 2p a litre for the second month in a row, data from the latest RAC Fuel Watch* report reveals.
A litre of unleaded now costs an average of 114.71p compared to 116.69p at the start of June. Diesel has fallen slightly more at 2.2p a litre from 117.77p to 115.57p. The average price at Britain’s four major supermarkets is 111.73p for petrol and 112.32p for diesel.
The average price of fuel is considerably lower than it was in February when a litre of unleaded was around 120p and diesel 122p. This means a tank of petrol is now around £3 cheaper (£2.91) than it was in February and diesel £3.54 cheaper.
Compared to May a tank of unleaded for a typical 55-litre family car is now £1.09 cheaper at £63.09 and the equivalent diesel fill-up is £1.21 less at £63.56.
The reductions are a result of a mid-month substantial drop in the oil price which saw a barrel go as low as $44.23 on 20 June. Across the month the oil price fell by 6% – starting June at $50.12 a barrel and finishing at $47.13 – which in turn caused the wholesale price of petrol to reduce by more than 3p a litre.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “June has been a good month for motorists, bringing a 2p reduction in pump prices, following on nicely from a similar drop in May. As wholesale prices have come down in response to a falling oil price retailers have done the right thing and passed their savings on to motorists on the forecourt.
“It has also been good to see retailers bringing the price of diesel in line with petrol as the wholesale price of diesel has been cheaper than petrol for some considerable time and right now they are broadly the same.
“But while it’s definitely positive to see pump prices so much lower than they were at the start of the year – especially with the summer holidays just around the corner – the overriding message to motorists has to be one of caution as it seems unlikely that the oil price will stay this low for very long.
“Oil producers group OPEC has been trying to shore up the oil price for months but the market is still oversupplied, mostly as a result of the United States’ increased production from fracking together with increased output from OPEC producers Libya and Nigeria, which are exempt from the organisation’s productions cuts.”
Regional fuel price variation
The North East saw the biggest fall in the price of unleaded with a litre coming down by 2.2p in June from 116.2p to 114p. Northern Ireland, however, started and finished the month with the cheapest fuel in the UK, with a litre now standing at 113.79p. The South East was once again the most expensive at 115.26p a litre.
London saw the greatest drop in the price of diesel with a litre reducing by 2.49p. The North East recorded the lowest end of month price at 114.46p and the South East the dearest at 116.23p.
Regional average unleaded pump prices
Unleaded
01/06/2017
29/06/2017
Change
UK average
116.69
114.71
-1.98
North East
116.20
114.00
-2.20
Wales
116.09
113.94
-2.15
Northern Ireland
115.93
113.79
-2.14
West Midlands
116.88
114.82
-2.06
East Midlands
116.61
114.57
-2.04
South West
116.71
114.71
-2.00
East
116.85
114.88
-1.97
South East
117.23
115.26
-1.97
North West
116.68
114.73
-1.95
London
116.85
114.94
-1.91
Scotland
116.30
114.49
-1.81
Yorkshire And The Humber
116.32
114.55
-1.77
Regional average diesel pump prices
Diesel
01/06/2017
29/06/2017
Change
UK average
117.77
115.57
-2.20
London
118.12
115.63
-2.49
North East
116.94
114.46
-2.48
West Midlands
117.86
115.43
-2.43
East
118.18
115.86
-2.32
South East
118.47
116.23
-2.24
South West
117.95
115.77
-2.18
East Midlands
117.48
115.39
-2.09
North West
117.67
115.60
-2.07
Scotland
117.74
115.68
-2.06
Wales
117.20
115.15
-2.05
Yorkshire And The Humber
117.32
115.30
-2.02
Northern Ireland
116.57
114.59
-1.98
Motorists can keep abreast of the latest fuel prices by visiting: rac.co.uk/fuelwatch or following #racfuelwatch on Twitter.
