Fuel price cuts remain
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, has confirmed he will freeze fuel duty and maintain the 5p cut in prices at the pumps for another 12 months.
The announcement came as part of last week’s Budget, with the Chancellor saying: “If I did nothing, fuel duty would increase by 13% this month, so instead I’ve listened to my right honourable friends.
“I have as a result decided to maintain the 5p cut and freeze fuel duty for another 12 months,” he continued. “This will save the average car driver £50 next year
‘Retailers have been upping margins’
and bring the total savings since the 5p cut was introduced to around £250.”
The cut was first announced in March 2022 by the then Chancellor Rishi Sunak, and while it’s been welcome, it hasn’t offered the savings some were hoping for.
“With a general election looming, it would have been a huge surprise for the Chancellor to tamper with the political hot potato that is fuel duty in today’s Budget,” RAC head of policy Simon Williams said. “It appears the decision of if or when duty will be put back up again has been quietly passed to the next government.
“But, while it’s good news that fuel duty has been kept low, it’s unlikely drivers will be breathing a collective sigh of relief as we don’t believe they’ve fully benefited from the cut that was introduced just two years ago due to retailers upping margins to cover their ‘increased costs’. This has meant fuel prices have been higher than they would otherwise have been.”
Williams’ points are backed up by data supplied by the RAC for February, which shows the average price of petrol shot up by 4p per litre across the month.
“In February, drivers endured the highest monthly average fuel price increases since September 2023,” Williams added.