New data from RAC Fuel Watch reveals that April 2022 saw an end to three months of constant fuel price rises.
A 0.5p per litre drop in the price of petrol over the course of the month, to 162.75p a litre, will be scant consolation for motorists, however. Diesel prices remained constant throughout the month, at 177p per litre.
Overall, it means petrol is now 4.5p per litre cheaper than the record high of 167.3p, set on 22 March 2022. Diesel costs 2.5p less than the peak seen last month.
The cost of driving every mile
Filling a typical 55-litre fuel tank with petrol is now 50p cheaper than at the start of April, at an average cost of £89.51. Filling an equivalent diesel car still costs £97.
The RAC calculates that, using an average figure of 40mpg, every mile driven now costs 18.5p in a petrol car. A diesel car costs 20p per mile by the same measure.
Motorway fuel prices increased during April, with petrol at 182.08p per litre and diesel at 192.34p.
Supermarkets remained the cheapest source of fuel, with Asda boasting the lowest-priced petrol at 159.38p per litre. Asda also had the cheapest diesel at 173.12p.
Retailers making a bigger margin
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “After three months of nightmarish price rises, April finally saw an end to seemingly endless forecourt hikes.
“Although the price of oil has cooled considerably, there’s still plenty of uncertainty in the market, which is leading to prices jumping around a lot. This coupled with the exchange rate worsening isn’t good for drivers and news that the EU is planning to phase out Russian oil is likely to cause the barrel price to rise.”
Williams added: “It’s also very much the case that retailers’ margins were far higher in April than they were in March. RAC Fuel Watch data estimates they took around 4p more a litre than they did over the course of the previous month. This will surely be a disappointment to the Chancellor, who cut fuel duty by 5p a litre in the Spring Statement.”
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