The RAC has confirmed a welcome change for diesel drivers, who are seeing falling prices at the pump. Unfortunately for unleaded motorists, the cost of petrol continued to rise in May, creating a month of mixed fortunes for UK motorists.
Price Changes in May
The average price of a litre of unleaded rose from 157p to 159.4p, an increase of 2.4p. This meant petrol drivers paid an extra £1.32 every time they filled up a typical 55-litre family car, with the cost rising from £86.36 to £87.68. In contrast, diesel fell from 188.4p to 183.9p, a drop of 4.5p, saving diesel drivers £2.50 per tank, from £103.68 to £101.13.
Supermarket Diesel Savings
Diesel drivers filling up at supermarkets such as Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, and Sainsbury's saw even lower prices. On 31 May, supermarket diesel was 182.5p, which is 1.4p less than the UK average. The RAC found that supermarket diesel dropped by 4p (3.9p) during the month.
Expert Analysis
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: "May was a better month for drivers of diesel vehicles than it was for petrol. Those relying on unleaded had to endure yet another rise at the pumps, while those who use diesel saw a welcome 4.5p reduction." He added: "It's really quite unusual to see the price of one fuel go up and the other come down. This was brought about by the wholesale cost of unleaded rising due to higher demand in the United States. This coincided with a drop in demand for heating oil in western Europe which is refined from the same part of the barrel as diesel."
The last week of May saw the price of Brent crude drop below $100, which Williams says "ought to prove to be good news for drivers as it should lead to far lower prices." He noted that the wholesale price of diesel has been far lower than its peak for some time, which should have yielded bigger forecourt reductions. Petrol, however, could have risen further than it did, with retailers possibly deciding to keep unleaded prices down at the expense of greater diesel reductions.
