Big retailers are keeping fuel costs 10p-a-litre higher than they should despite fall in price of petrol, RAC says

• The average price of a litre of petrol in the UK fell nearly 7p to 162.9p last month
• But drivers are denied a further 10p cut as retailers hike profit margins, RAC says
• Morrisons is offering discounted fuel for shoppers who spend a certain amount

Drivers are being denied a further 10p cut in petrol prices as big retailers hike profit margins, the RAC says. 

The average price of a litre of the fuel in the UK fell by nearly 7p to 162.9p last month as oil prices tumbled, it said. 

This was the sixth-biggest monthly drop in average petrol prices since 2000 but the cut should have been deeper, the motoring services company claimed. 

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: ‘Drivers really should have seen a far bigger drop as the wholesale price of delivered petrol was around 120p for the whole month. 

‘This means forecourts across the country should have been displaying prices around 152p given the long-term margin on unleaded is 7p a litre.

 Drivers are being denied a further 10p cut in petrol prices as big retailers hike profit margins, the RAC says

‘RAC Fuel Watch data has shown margins to be around 17p a litre – a huge 10p more than normal.’ 

Supermarkets normally charge around 3.5p per litre less than the UK average but are currently only around 1.5p cheaper. 

Mr Williams noted that Morrisons is offering discounted fuel for customers who spend a certain amount in store. 

He urged drivers to shop around rather than simply assuming supermarkets are the cheapest fuel retailers. 

The average price of a litre of diesel fell by 3.5p to 180.2p last month.

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