Dropping the price of car fuel by up to four pence a litre is very welcome news for UK motorists, but they are still spending 7.5 million extra per day on petrol compared to January, says the AA Motoring Trust.
Petrol falling to 89.9 pence per litre takes the price back to levels seen at the beginning of August, when a household with two-car owning adults spent 22.62 per month extra on petrol compared to January.
Rural drivers, who often live beyond the reach of fierce competition in built-up areas where supermarkets usually set the pace on petrol prices, will have to wait until a reduction in the wholesale price of petrol gradually works its way through to their local pumps. However, most rural residents understand that local petrol stations provide a service to their communities and provide a valuable alternative to driving many miles to refuel, usually costing drivers even more.
"Four pence off a litre is very welcome news but drivers are still dismayed by what they are paying at the pump," says Ruth Bridger, petrol analyst for the AA Motoring Trust. "They have to drive to work, to the shops and to take the children to school, and consuming petrol is unavoidable. They recoup the extra cost of high prices from elsewhere in the family budget, which means they spend less in the shops, and in entertainment and leisure activities."
"Once again, supermarkets have led the way in speeding up a drop in the price of car fuel, with the traditional petrol retailers following in their wake. However, this reflected a known drop in the wholesale price of car fuel and motorists hope that any further decrease will work its way just as quickly through to the pumps."
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