Drivers of family cars face an £88 charge when filling up in June, the RAC has warned. The RAC's data shows the average price of diesel has fallen by nearly 8p (7.79p) a litre to 183.75p since peaking on 15 April at 191.54p.
Petrol's peak occurred on 28 May at 159.53p – it's now 26.5p more than it was at the start of the conflict in Iran, at 159.37p. A tank of petrol - which is E10 or E5 - for a 55-litre family car currently costs £87.65 – £14.60 more than 28 February.
For diesel it's £101.06 – £22.75 more than it was at the start of the Iran war. RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: "It's positive to have confirmation retailers haven't altered their pricing strategies as a result of the Iran war, but it's worrying the watchdog has concluded competition is still lacking in the road fuel market and that margins are still at historically high levels.
The Labour Party Government's new Fuel Finder, introduced at the start of February, is supposed to help with that but it's still early days. The August CMA report will be very interesting as it will cover a period of lower wholesale prices."
The wholesale price of diesel has already come down considerably but prices at the pumps have only dropped by around 8p since peaking on 15 April at 191.54p. The price of oil has now been under $100 a barrel for almost a week which is another positive sign for drivers and potentially a test for retailers as it should lead to lower forecourt prices.
In the meantime, we continue to urge drivers to use tools like the free myRAC app to ensure they pay the lowest possible prices every time they fill up. The AA said greater price transparency from Fuel Finder had likely increased competition between retailers. The average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts hit 159.7p last week, the highest since November 2022, the AA said.
