RAC says drivers should feel angry as price of petrol only reduces slightly in August - despite big drop in wholesale costs

While the average price of petrol and diesel on the UK’s forecourts fell slightly in August retailers failed to fully pass on big savings in the wholesale price of unleaded to drivers, data from RAC Fuel Watch* has found.

A litre of petrol reduced 0.27p to 128.88p but the wholesale price came down dramatically by 4.38p to 96.57p. The situation with diesel was similar but not as pronounced – a litre decreased by 0.38p to 131.66p while its wholesale price fell by 1p a litre to 101.12p. This means the cost of a filling a family-sized 55-litre car came down by 15p to £70.88 for petrol drivers and 21p to £72.41 for those with diesel cars.

The average price for petrol at the country’s four biggest fuel retailers – Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons – was 125.41p (a reduction of 0.55p) and 128.04p diesel (0.6p saving on July). Both fuels are around 3.5p cheaper at supermarkets than other UK fuel retailers. At the end of August Asda recorded the lowest prices for both petrol and diesel at 124.08p and 126.05p respectively.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said:

“Drivers have the right to feel angry that the price of fuel did not fall more in August than it did. With nearly 4.5p coming off the wholesale price of petrol drivers should have seen, at the very least, 2p a litre being knocked off at the pumps by the end of the month.

“While the average price charged by the supermarkets came down a little more than the UK average they should really have led the way with larger cuts which would have spurred other retailers to reduce their prices too.

“By our calculations retailers ought to be charging around 126p for a litre of unleaded based on a wholesale price of 98p a litre, which many retailers will have bought at a couple of weeks ago, and then factoring in delivery, a reasonable margin of 5p a litre and VAT. As for the supermarkets they could easily be selling at around 122p.

“If you look at the average cost of fuel in Northern Ireland you can see this is possible as the average price of petrol there is 126.01p and diesel is also more than 2.5p a litre cheaper at 129.02p. If Northern Ireland can charge a fairer price why can’t retailers in the rest of the UK do it. For this reason we strongly urge all retailers outside of Northern Ireland to cut their prices in the next week by at least 2p a litre on both petrol and diesel.

“The lower wholesale prices seen in August are a result of a 5% drop in the price of oil over the month with a barrel going down from $62.47 to $59.09. The other price-determining factor – the sterling US dollar exchange rate – changed very little over the month leading to a pound being worth $1.21 at both the start and finish.

“There was a time when a 4.5p reduction in the wholesale price would have led the supermarkets to cut their prices significantly, but unfortunately those days seem to have passed as they no longer appear to have the appetite for them despite the clear wholesale market dip. Perhaps they are hedging their bets thinking there could be a further drop in the value of sterling which will could cause wholesale prices to increase again.”

Regional fuel price variation

Regional average unleaded pump prices (pence per litre)

Unleaded

01/08/2019

30/08/2019

Change

UK average

129.15

128.88

-0.27

Northern Ireland

126.78

126.01

-0.77

East

129.23

128.90

-0.33

South West

129.07

128.77

-0.30

East Midlands

129.16

128.91

-0.25

Wales

128.19

127.94

-0.25

North West

128.89

128.65

-0.24

North East

128.47

128.25

-0.22

West Midlands

129.27

129.05

-0.22

London

129.47

129.29

-0.18

Scotland

129.34

129.17

-0.17

South East

129.89

129.72

-0.17

Yorkshire and The Humber

128.76

128.78

0.02

Regional average diesel pump prices (pence per litre)

Diesel

01/08/2019

30/08/2019

Change

UK average

132.04

131.66

-0.38

South West

132.37

131.89

-0.48

East Midlands

132.44

131.99

-0.45

West Midlands

132.10

131.65

-0.45

London

132.06

131.63

-0.43

Wales

131.45

131.06

-0.39

North West

131.76

131.40

-0.36

East

132.78

132.44

-0.34

Northern Ireland

129.26

129.02

-0.24

South East

132.95

132.73

-0.22

Scotland

131.89

131.72

-0.17

North East

130.78

130.69

-0.09

Yorkshire and The Humber

131.35

131.37

0.02

Motorists can keep abreast of the latest fuel prices by visiting the RAC Fuel Watch webpage.

Press office team

Press office team

For journalist enquiries only

Share

Latest News

Website preview
Government commits £24bn to road maintenance in 2025 Spending Review - RAC comment
In response to the Government's Spending Review, which commits £24bn of capital funding to road maintenance between 2026 - 2030, RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “Giving councils the certainty of longer-term funding to fix their roads is something we’ve called for many years, so this is excellent news. Local authorities now have a golden opportunity to end the cycle of merely filling potholes and instead begin to be much more proactive in their maintenance. This must include both more surface dressing to keep decent roads in good condition and resurfacing those that are at the end of their lives. It’s incumbent on councils to grasp this new opportunity and show all road users how it’s making a genuine difference in the quality of the roads they use every day."
media.rac.co.uk
Website preview
Petrol drops for third month in a row to near four-year low
Diesel now at its lowest since end of September 2021
media.rac.co.uk
Website preview
Be wary of the ordinary: talking to passengers and daydreaming found to be biggest causes of distracted driving mistakes
Ordinary things drivers do every day like talking to passengers and daydreaming have been found to be the biggest cause of driving mistakes ahead of more obviously dangerous distractions, new RAC research reveals.*
media.rac.co.uk

Get updates in your mailbox

By clicking "Subscribe" I confirm I have read and agree to the Privacy Policy.

About RAC Media Centre

The RAC Media Centre provides journalists and news outlets with the latest motoring-related news, comment, data and research.

The RAC is an iconic UK brand, and provides complete peace of mind to nearly 14 million UK private and business drivers - whatever their motoring needs. As well as its premium nationwide breakdown assistance service – with an expert branded patrol workforce attending more than two million breakdowns every year – and European breakdown assistance products, it offers a wide range of market-leading products across insurance, legal services, vehicle inspections and service, maintenance and repair. Included in this is the first-of-its-kind nationwide Mobile Mechanics service which brings the garage to homes and workplaces. 

At the forefront of new solutions for business fleets and consumers, the RAC’s breakdown service is electric-ready with mobile EV charging technology and be called on using myRAC – its all-in-one route planner, fuel finder and breakdown reporting app