Petrol prices continue to plummet

Last Modified: 10 Oct 2008
Source: PA News

Petrol costs 9% less than three months ago as oil prices fell to their lowest level for a year, the AA said.

The average price of unleaded petrol across the UK was 109.1p a litre on Thursday, with diesel costing 120.4p.

That means a typical 50-litre refill is now £5.33 cheaper than when unleaded reached a record high of 119.7p on July 17.

But prices are still more than 11p higher than the 97.65p a litre this time last year.

Supermarket giant Tesco lowered unleaded and diesel by 3p across its 430 UK forecourts on Friday. It follows a penny cut by rival Asda at the start of this week, and price drops made by a host of retailers last month.

Total said it was dropping the price of petrol and diesel by 3p per litre at its network of 500 service stations across England and Wales.

BP earlier said it reduced pump prices at its 300 company-owned stores by an average of 3p per litre and some sites by 5p per litre.

A BP spokeswoman said: "We wanted to pass on the reductions to our customers."

AA spokesman Paul Watters said: "The 3p drop in the price of petrol is very welcome, particularly with another supermarket taking the lead in price reductions. This should cut the cost of filling a tank by £1.50, which will help to offset grocery and domestic energy inflation."

The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), said that oil price changes typically take between six and eight weeks to filter down to forecourts. Crude oil was trading below 80 dollars a barrel for the first time in a year.

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