Petrol prices drop to under £1 per litre – the lowest level since May 2016
UNLEADED petrol prices have dropped to their lowest level in almost four years, with some refuelling stations charging under £1 per litre.
Prices haven't been this cheap since May 2016, according to latest government data.
While the average cost of petrol at UK forecourts is £1.09 per litre, some independent chains are pricing their unleaded fuel at less than £1 per litre.
The Sun has also seen several Costco refuelling stations charging less than £1 per litre, according to data on PetrolPrices.com.
Latest figures from the Department of Transport show filling up a 55-litre family car is around £10 cheaper today than in late January.
Diesel costs an average of £1.16p per litre, which is the lowest level since July 2017.
However, government figures also show road traffic is around two-thirds lower than normal due to the coronavirus lockdown.
The government has ordered people to only go outside for food, health reasons or to commute if they cannot work from home.
The drop in fuel prices is due to the price of oil nose diving since the beginning of the year.
Oil prices have fallen partly due to less drivers on the road, meaning less demand for oil.
Meanwhile, major oil producing nations, including Russia and Saudi Arabia have been unable to agree a deal on how to cut supply leading to an overproduction of oil, the RAC previously told The Sun.
Brent crude, the international standard, briefly dropped below $25 per barrel two weeks ago.
At the time of writing, the price of Brent crude was at $27.62 per barrel, according to Investing.com.
The RAC told us none of the major UK supermarkets are charging under £1 per litre for fuel.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams, told The Sun: "It’s ironic that people being restricted from driving has contributed to the oil price going into freefall as a result of supply far outstripping demand.
"While cars are vital in the coronavirus pandemic for essential journeys, the vast majority of drivers are doing very few miles so can’t benefit from these low prices which were last seen four years ago.
"We strongly urge motorists to follow the government’s instruction to ‘stay at home’ and not to be tempted to take advantage of cheaper fuel by driving more."
Ways to cut down on your fuel costs
HERE are some tips on how you can slash the cost of fuel
- Make your car more fuel-efficient. You can do this by keeping your tyres inflated, taking the roof rack off, emptying your car of clutter and turning off your air con when driving at lower speeds.
- Find the cheapest fuel prices. PetrolPrices.com and Confused.com allows you to search prices of UK petrol stations. All you need to do is enter in your postcode and tell it how far you want to travel (up to 20 miles).
- Drive more efficiently. Some ways to do this, include:
- Accelerate gradually without over-revving
- Always drive on the highest possible gear
- If you can, allow your car to slow down naturally as your brake is a money burner
- Re-starting your car is expensive, if you can keep moving
The AA told us they've spotted the best price for fuel in the West Midlands and Northern Ireland.
However, spokesperson Luke Bosdet said drivers are still paying £5 on average for their fuel than necessary.
Explaining the breakdown of how fuel is priced, he said: "For the past weeks, the wholesale price of petrol has been around 16p a litre.
"Add fuel duty at 57.95p a litre, a generous 9p-a-litre retailer/supplier margin and then add 20 per cent VAT and the average pump price in normal times would be 99.54p a litre, or £1 a litre for clarity.
"Instead, a tank of fuel costs nearly a fiver more than it should."
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Back in March 2020, fuel prices saw their biggest weekly fall since records began due to coronavirus.
It came after Morrisons and Asda cut up to 12p per litre off fuel, sparking a supermarket price war.
One of the first independent chains to slash petrol costs this low was this station in Birmingham.