As fuel costs fall... pump prices soar!

Drivers ‘ripped off’ with petrol rising 3p a litre

DRIVERS are being ripped off at the petrol pumps – with prices up by 3p a litre last month despite wholesale costs going down, motoring groups claim.

Uncertainty around the Omicron variant of Covid-19 caused wholesale fuel prices to tumble by 10p a litre in November to their lowest levels since September.

But supermarkets, in particular, have failed to reflect this fall on the forecourt, with retail prices rising on average by 3.1p for a litre of unleaded and 2.7p for diesel in November, according to the RAC.

The motoring group last night labelled the hikes ‘unjustified’ and called on retailers to slash prices in time for Christmas. RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: ‘Our data shows all too clearly that drivers are being taken for a ride by retailers at the moment.’

He added: ‘We can’t see any justification for the prices that are being charged at the pumps and are concerned that drivers on lower incomes who depend on their vehicles are being priced off the road altogether.

‘There appears to be no desire among the big four retailers [Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco], which dominate fuel sales, to lower their prices to entice customers to store.

‘It would be much fairer if retailers mirrored wholesale prices more closely on a daily or weekly basis.’

The motoring body also called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to intervene, arguing that the freeze on fuel duty announced during his Budget last month did not go far enough.

Wholesale fuel prices had fallen by 7p a litre by the middle of November. By the end of that month, this fall would have been felt by retailers, allowing them to charge lower costs to drivers.

Despite this, the average cost of a litre of unleaded petrol ended the month at 147.28p while diesel was up to 150.64p.

The AA last night backed calls for retailers to reduce petrol prices at the pump.

Spokesman Luke Bosdet said: ‘Usually when wholesale costs come down we see the likes of Asda or Morrisons fall over each other to lower their prices.

‘But that hasn’t happened. If supermarkets stop racing to bring prices down that is a very worrying development because competition has basically evaporated.’

A spokesman for the British Retail Consortium said: ‘Supermarkets are keen to provide their customers with the best value for petrol through their forecourts, offering the cheapest petrol in the country.

‘However, prices at the pump will be influenced by various forces, including tax, oil prices and operational costs.’

‘No desire to lower prices’