SWEET RELIEF
Petrol prices fall BELOW 175p a litre – knocking £9 off a tank
PETROL prices have fallen below 175p per litre in time for the weekend, giving millions of motorists some welcome relief.
The AA reports that petrol prices fell to 174.79p a litre on Thursday and diesel to 185.40p.
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Fuel costs have soared in recent months - but this weekend will mark a turning point as prices fall 16.5p below their peak, knocking £9 off the price of filling up a car since their peak in June.
Pump prices this weekend will be back to where they were on the Jubilee weekend at the start of June.
That's down from 179.80p a litre for petrol a week ago, and 185.9p for diesel.
The AA said costs will fall BELOW 175p this weekend and could dropl by a further 15p in coming weeks.
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Luke Bosdet from the AA said petrol stations need to pass on the savings to drivers as quickly as possible: "The 20p-a-litre fall in diesel wholesale costs should also be contributing to lower transport costs that will hopefully roll back some of the inflation on goods and services.”
Wholesale fuel prices have soared in recent months, in part because of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Petrol prices peaked in June, with motorists reporting that some forecourts were charging more than £2 a litre for fuel.
Costs are still significantly higher than a year ago, when petrol averaged 135.3p a litre, and diesel 135.56p.
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The increase has meant misery for families who saw the cost of filling up a car top £100.
The AA said that prices easing off could save the average family with two cars almost £400 a year.
Last week, supermarkets were slammed for not passing on savings to motorists quickly enough.
The RAC accused Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury's of failing to reduce prices in line with wholesale costs, as well as other forecourts.
Supermarkets became embroiled in a price war as they slashed the cost of fuel.
Morrisons slashed petrol prices by 6p a litre, Sainsbury's and Asda by 5p, and Tesco by 6.5p.
The AA said petrol prices should fall further as wholesale costs continued to ease off.
It said if forecourts passed on the full 30p-a-litre drop in full costs, it could cut families' annual petrol bills by £720.
Motorists are often disappointed that petrol prices at the forecourts don't fall in line with wholesale prices.
Experts point out that this is because petrol stations buy their fuel in advance, so there's often a lag of a week or two while the savings filter through.
How to cut your petrol costs
There are plenty of ways to cut your petrol costs through little-known hacks.
For starters, you can drive more efficiently. This can mean:
- 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, so keep that in mind
There are also sites you can use to help you find the cheapest petrol prices near you, like and Confused.com.
These allow 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).
Always think about keeping your tyres inflated too - underinflated tyres can cause a vehicle to use up to 10% more fuel.
It's also so easy to forget about the clutter building up in your car - whether it's tools, kids' toys or general rubbish. But it turns out additional storage space can increase fuel costs by a whopping 12%.
So, don't forget to do a car clear out every now and then.
And, if you're driving at a slower speed, think about taking the roof rack off and switching off air con to save on running costs.
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