Drivers told to buy fuel ‘sooner rather than later’ as 10-week price drop ends

Drivers are being urged to buy fuel “sooner rather then later” as a 10-week run of falling prices has ended, dashing hopes of a return to pre-pandemic levels.

The AA said the average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts fell from 150.1p on April 24 to 144.5p at the end of last week, but has stabilised since then.

The average price of a litre of diesel dropped from 158.3p on April 24 to 149.6p but the decline stopped on Thursday last week.

Motoring groups previously hoped petrol prices would fall below the pre-pandemic record high of 142.5p per litre on April 12 2012 for just the second time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The AA said this will not happen in the short term due to the rebound in the price of a barrel of oil from 80 US dollars in early June to more than 85 US dollars over the past fortnight.

AA fuel price spokesman Luke Bosdet said: “The question is whether, after a significant fall in the UK’s average petrol price in June, the price will repeat last year’s sharp rise going further into the summer.

“It would be a blow for the impending summer getaway if the cost of road travel took off again.

“For now, filling up sooner rather then later will take advantage of current lower prices.”