Diesel drivers taken for a ride at the pumps

Diesel drivers are being taken for a ride at the pumps as retailers' profit margins have soared, a leading motoring group claims.

The RAC said major fuel retailers are refusing to cut pump prices in "any meaningful way" despite wholesale diesel costs falling to a 15-month low.

It says that, in the past four weeks, average wholesale prices have fallen by 10p a litre.

But this has yielded a price cut of just 3p a litre at the pumps – with diesel currently averaging £1.66 per litre on forecourts.

Retailers, the RAC says, are taking an average profit margin of nearly 19p for every litre they sell, compared with 9p last year.

This means last week's extension of the Treasury's 5p-per-litre cut in fuel duty is being "more than gobbled up by retailers".

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: "The pricing tactics of major retailers mean that diesel drivers in particular – including those who work for millions of small businesses – are still getting a really miserable deal at the pumps, and effectively aren't seeing any benefit from the 5p duty cut whatsoever.

"It feels like it's retailers who are benefiting from the lower duty, and not motorists.”

He added: "We're in a ridiculous situation where it would take just one major retailer to do the right thing and cut diesel prices to more sensible levels for a ripple effect to take place across the country's forecourts, but no retailer wants to blink first."

Around 17.6million vehicles in the UK are dieselpowered, including the vast majority of vans – 43% of all vehicles on the road.