The RAC says it now costs £83.59 to fill a 55-litre family car with petrol and £92.75 for diesel, although this is still £10.50 and £14.40 more respectively than at the end of February, before the conflict began.
Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, said: “Fuel prices have continued to fall in response to the fall in oil prices and wholesale petrol and diesel prices, which is good news for drivers who have had a tough time at the pumps this year.
“But our analysis of wholesale data suggests the cuts should come faster and further, particularly for diesel. Drivers should indeed see average prices below 150p for unleaded and below 160p for diesel over the next week.”
Despite the conflict, petrol and diesel prices remained below levels reached in the summer of 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when petrol reached 191.5p a liter and diesel reached 199p a litre.
Because transportation of oil is a slow process, it takes about a fortnight for price fluctuations in wholesale markets to be reflected at the pump.
Fuel retailers have denied allegations of price hikes during the conflict. The official market regulator said it had “not seen evidence of retailers actively changing their pricing strategies to take advantage of the crisis”.
A government scheme called Fuel Finder, external Allows drivers to compare the cost of fuel offered by petrol stations across the UK.
Luc Bosset, head of policy at the AA, said the group was surprised by the speed of the price decline and had put it into planning.
On 20 May Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said that a planned 5p increase in fuel duty in September would be postponed to 31 December due to the conflict.