Slump in wholesale fuel costs gives drivers hope of pump relief

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The RAC has called on Big Four supermarkets such as Tesco to further cut fuel prices as diesel and petrol prices fell by around 9 per cent in December. 
Motorist groups have accused forecourts of profiteering as fuel prices are still too high compared to the wholesale petrol costs.

A slump in the price of wholesale fuel could give drivers hope after weeks of skyrocketing prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

According to AA’s latest data, petrol wholesale costs have gone down from 75.8p to 67.7p, while diesel has fallen to 77.3p per litre from 89.8p at the beginning of the week.

The AA said the reductions  “offer drivers the hope that pump prices are reaching their peak and may fall back.”

Brent crude prices this week have gone on a rollercoaster journey this week, peaking on Monday at $139 per barrel – a 14-year record – before dropping below $110 on Wednesday, City PM reported.

Over the last two weeks price volatility has been a constant, mainly driven by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the consequent geopolitical and economic ramifications, including fears of supply shortages and Western sanctions on Moscow’s oil and gas.

“From Monday to Wednesday Brent crude oil traded within a 33-dollar range, the widest I have seen for such a short period during all my years in the business,” Ole Hansen, Saxo Bank’s head of commodities, told City PM “With that in mind, the current situation can easily be described as unprecedented. Unprecedented in the sense that we are witnessing a breakdown in normal.”