A three-month trend of falling pump prices came to an end in January, with drivers paying 140.5p for a litre of unleaded, and 148.5p for diesel – the same as December – according to the RAC’s monthly Fuel Watch report.
The RAC also cites data from the Competition and Markets Authority’s voluntary price reporting scheme that shows a 14p difference in the lowest and most expensive prices being charged by supermarkets.
The motorists’ organisation says the Costco chain is charging just 130p for a litre of petrol, while unleaded petrol at independent forecourt Grindley Brook in Whitchurch, Shropshire, costs just 133.9p, nearly 7p less than the UK average. The RAC says this has forced nearby retailers to compete by pricing their unleaded at 136.9p.
When it comes to the prices being charged by supermarkets, the RAC says Sainsbury’s in Oxford and Newport offered the cheapest unleaded petrol in January, at 131.9p per litre, while Morrisons in Exeter and Ipswich was the most expensive at 145.9p.
A threat of attacks by Iran-backed Houthi insurgents in Yemen which has forced operators of tankers and other cargo vessels to avoid the Suez Canal and take the longer route via the southern tip of Africa has caused the price of a barrel of oil to rise since the start of the year.
