RAC repeats call for a cut in the price of diesel at UK forecourts

The price of oil has now been well below the $40 a barrel mark for two weeks, bringing with it £1 a litre petrol at supermarkets and other price-competitive retailers. The RAC, however, is repeating its call for a cut in diesel pump prices as wholesale savings are not being passed on at the forecourt.

RAC Fuel Watch spokesman Simon Williams said: “With the price of oil now falling back to 2004 prices of around $36 a barrel, the sight of £1 a litre petrol on supermarket forecourts should be common for some time to come.

“While unleaded has come down at the pump, we are still looking for the supermarkets to cut the price of diesel properly and give motorists the Christmas present they deserve. The wholesale price of diesel is still 2p a litre cheaper than petrol, but despite this the average pump price of diesel is 106p – 3p a litre more expensive than unleaded which is now 103p a litre.

“If forecourt pricing was a closer reflection of what was happening with the wholesale fuel market we would have seen £1 a litre diesel already. The cuts to the diesel forecourt price should have happened far faster and been far more dramatic than has been the case.

“Indeed, if the retail fuel market mirrored the wholesale market we actually would have seen the price of petrol increase very slightly due a short-lived upward blip in the wholesale unleaded cost. Diesel, however, should have reduced much faster than it actually has which is bad news for the country’s 11 million diesel car drivers.”