Fuel prices hit three-and-a-half-year low
Fuel prices sink to lowest level in three-and-a-half years as cost of petrol hits £1.10 a litre during coronavirus lockdown
- Average cost of petrol in Britain today is £1.10 a litre and diesel is £1.17 a litre
- Family car is around £9 cheaper to fill up today than it was at end of January
- Comes after huge drop in oil prices from Saudi Arabia amid COVID-19 crisis
Fuel prices have hit a three-and-a-half-year low with some petrol stations selling it for less than £1 a litre.
Government figures reveal the average cost of a litre of petrol in the UK is £1.10 and £1.17 for diesel.
In the past week, typical prices for both fuel types have fallen by 2p per litre, resulting in the lowest average price for petrol since August 2016, and diesel since August 2017.
A 55-litre family car is today around £9 cheaper to fill up than it was in late January.
It comes after the price of oil plummeted as a result of the global coronavirus outbreak, with two of the world’s top producers falling out over the pandemic.
Fuel prices have sunk to their lowest level in up to three-and-a-half years. File image used
Saudi Arabia, which produces around 10 per cent of global supplies, decided to slash prices and ramp up production after Russia refused to go along with planned cuts.
After hitting an 18-year low last week – below 25 dollars for a barrel of Brent crude oil – prices rallied when US President Donald Trump said the two sparring countries would agree to slash production.
A barrel of Brent is now trading at 33.67 dollars, but investors have seemed cautious this week, and the price dropped 3.1 per cent on Monday.
The number of motorists taking advantage of cheaper fuel is limited however, as the Government has ordered people to only go outside for food, health reasons or to commute if they cannot work from home.
Department for Transport figures show that road traffic has fallen by around two-thirds in the past three weeks.
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