By Elliot Wright, 19th February 2010
Motorists are still paying sky-high prices at the pump despite a
fall in the wholesale cost of petrol, according to new figures
released today by the AA.
The motoring organisation said that the average petrol remained
at around 112 pence a litre even though there has been a 2p drop in
wholesale prices.
Diesel prices also stagnated, costing motorists around 113.84p a
litre.
The AA suggested that supermarkets had been uncharacteristically
slow in cutting their prices, leading to less reductions
overall.
At 108.9p a litre, Asda is currently offering the cheapest
petrol while Morrisons offers to match that where there is a nearby
Asda store.
But the AA said it could not understand why Tesco, traditionally
a trend-setter in low petrol prices, is selling at an average of
111.94p a litre - even more than oil giants such as Shell and
Jet.
The report found that massive variations between prices at the
pumps. Whereas supermarkets are offering a litre of petrol at
prices below 110p, motorway service stations are charging more
around 120p a litre.
AA president Edmund King said: "We know from our research that
£1.10 a litre is when driver tolerance of higher fuel prices begins
to evaporate, and £1.12 may have been sufficient for many car
owners to reconsider who they buy their fuel from."
To make matters worse, drivers could soon see a 4p hike in
petrol prices as an increase in oil costs filters its way through
the system.
"The AA fears that the recent fall in the wholesale price is
only a brief respite," added Mr. King.
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