Fuel prices London: when does the AA expect cost of petrol and diesel to tumble - average fuel price in the UK

The AA has made a surprising admission that will be music to the ears of many in the UK, as most fuel and diesel prices remain sky high.

It’s been a tough few months for those filling up in the UK, with the average price of a litre of diesel reaching almost £2 not too long ago.

In the last two years, we have seen both extremes for diesel and petrol, with the price of a litre dipping below £1 during the pandemic, and then sky-rocketing earlier this year.

Records have been broken this year, with a 55-litre tank costing just over £100 back at the start of June, with the RAC declaring it a ‘dark day for drivers’.

When does the AA expect petrol and diesel prices to drop?

The AA expect fuel prices to drop very soon, claiming that within a fortnight, the cost of filling up a car is set to be £10 cheaper as high prices are set to finally drop.

The AA also said that the price of petrol had dropped by 2.8p a litre from record highs, knocking around £1.50 off the price of a full tank of fuel.

Wholesale petrol peaked above £1 a litre at the start of June but fell below 80p a litre for the majority of the past week, which indicates a fall of as much as 20p a litre at the pump within weeks.

Luke Bosdet at the AA said: “Wholesale petrol’s trajectory, if sustained, would lead to savings from the record highs – providing the fuel trade is prepared to pass them on.

“So far this morning, even with oil rebounding, wholesale petrol remains below 80.5p a litre.”

What is the average price of petrol and diesel in the UK?

Petrol now costs on average 188.76p a litre and diesel 196.96p.

This compares to records of 191.5p and 199.1p respectively at the beginning of the month.

It’s a promising trend of fuel and diesel prices falling, which will be welcomed news by everyone amid the well publicised cost of living crisis.

Why did fuel prices rise so much?

The Russian invasion of Ukraine did have a big impact on fuel prices, which were already rising at the time of the invasion, which occurred late in February.

Fuel prices went up sharply because the price for crude oil, which is used to make petrol and diesel, also rose.

Crude oil was cheaper at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, because the demand for it wasn’t there.

As we started to adjust to life post-Covid, with businesses and just everything beginning to return to life as we knew it, the demand for energy increased, meaning the costs also rose.

The UK is slowly phasing out Russian oil, and EU leaders say they will block most Russian oil imports by the end of the year, with the United States doing the same.

This means demand for oil from other producers has increased on a smaller market, leading to higher prices.