Petrol prices in UK ‘go up like rocket, but fall like feather’, says RAC

Pumps are increasing fuel prices for their own gains, Royal Automobile Club (RAC) has said, even as wholesale costs of both unleaded petrol and diesel in the UK are falling due to the Omicron variant.

Drivers of petrol cars are losing out £5.5 million ($7.3m) a day based on current prices and are urging retailers to cut pump prices immediately, RAC said as wholesale petrol prices fell 10p in November to their lowest levels since September, while the cost of wholesale diesel fell by 7p.

“Drivers are being ripped off,” RAC spokesperson Simon Williams told BBC.

He said the UK’s supermarkets account for selling 50 per cent of fuel and remain slow to pass on any drop in wholesale rates to customers. 

“Prices go up like a rocket, but fall like a feather,” Williams told Radio 4’s Today programme. 

Prices for both fuels peaked at record highs on 21 and 20 November respectively — petrol 147.72p per litre and diesel 151.1p.

The RAC said “there is absolutely no justification for the high prices being charged on forecourts,” urging them to cut prices by around 12p a litre for petrol and 7p for diesel, or at least “clearly explain” the reasons for the price hike.

It said that the high cost of fuel is hurting drivers at the worst possible time with Christmas just around the corner, and adding to the unprecedented pressure on household incomes.

The association said supermarket chains who are major fuel retailers, such as Asda, Sainsbury’s,Tesco and Morrisons, should have cut prices, but have instead increased them “unnecessarily”.

“Since Covid they’ve been far more reluctant to pass on any savings, even though the frequency with which they buy means they are in a position to pass on any savings in the wholesale price to drivers far more quickly,” Williams told the BBC.

The RAC also said it welcomed the chancellor’s fuel duty freeze last month, but said the government can do more. It also said the financial benefits of running an electric car for those drivers who can afford to make the switch are clear.