Tonight:
5°c
Petrol prices at new low amid cuts
31 Dec 2008- Rangers FC enters administration
- Inflation plunges to 14-month low
- Solo Kate in Valentine's city visit
- Qatada deportation talks continue
- Perjury file over Lawrence trial
- Care probe hospital suspends staff
- £500,000 seized from canoeist wife
- Whitney funeral at childhood church
- Most hate crimes feature racism
- Bangkok bomber injured in own blast
The price of petrol continued to fall after supermarket Tesco cut 3p a litre from unleaded and diesel at its 430 petrol filling stations.
The reduction, which represents the latest shot in a supermarket price war, comes a day after the AA motoring organisation revealed the price of petrol had hit a three-year low.
The AA said the average cost of petrol at the beginning of this week was 87.79p a litre compared with 88.27p at the end of December 2005. Diesel is now averaging 99.72p a litre - the lowest price since November 2007.
With petrol hitting a record high of 119.7p a litre in July this year, a UK driver is on average now paying nearly £16 less to fill up a typical 50-litre tank than during this last summer. A family with two petrol cars is now spending £68.39 less a month on fuel.
Tesco said its lowest petrol price was now 82.9p a litre.
Retailers have been able to cut forecourt costs after a sharp slump in the price of oil.
New York-traded crude hit a record 147.27 US dollars a barrel on July 11, driven by speculation that soaring growth in emerging economies, such as China and India, would boost demand for crude. Prices also rose 57% in 2007 to 95.98 US dollars a barrel.
However, prices went into reverse in the second half of 2008 as the global economic crisis impacted on consumer spending and industrial production.
The New York price fell to its lowest in almost five years at 33.87 earlier this month, although fears this week that the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza could heighten tension in the oil-rich Middle East bolstered prices towards 40 US dollars a barrel.
The AA said new retail fuel sales figures released by the Government showed that petrol sales in July-September 2008 - the period of peak prices - fell by 8.2% cent compared to the same time last year.
Reader views (4)
Enjoy the price whilst it lasts, just wait for the Government to increase Fuel duty....you just know it's going to happen!
- Gavin, maidstone, Kent, 31/12/2008 13:06
Report abuse
Petrol prices have fallen by over 65% in the USA and what was $4.00 a gallon is now $1.45 a gallon, why are we not seeing the same decreases? The UK is an oil producing country and our petrol should be some of the cheapest in Europe, not the most expensive. BP records record profits over the summer as the public could barely afford to drive their cars, an investigation is needed and regulations need to be implaced to stop these companies dictating absurd pricing.
- Brandon Thomas, London UK, 31/12/2008 12:59
Report abuse
Petrol is still more than 10p per litre higher than when crude was last at this price. Rip off UK still.
- B, London, 31/12/2008 11:49
Report abuse
What's all this about 'New Low'? I remember when you could get a GALLON for thirty-seven-and-a-half pence!
- Tangomike, Kensington, London, 31/12/2008 11:25
Report abuse
