RAC says average fuel price should fall to 145p to be fair on consumers
Gordon Balmer, of the Petrol Retailers' Association, said their members "committed to keeping pump prices as low as possible but they are not immune to events outside of their control”.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 We know that driving a car is something which people rely on incredibly in this country.
00:06 In fact, long term REC research says that eight in 10 people would struggle to get by
00:11 without having access to a car.
00:13 We know that our public transport system is pretty frail, and unless you're in London,
00:17 you can't really rely on it that well, particularly for lots of the journeys we need to make.
00:21 Relying on a car is crucial, it's also crucial for the economy.
00:24 And we know that also, unfortunately, that high fuel prices also impact inflation.
00:30 There's also been good news about inflation, that it has come down to close to 2%, but
00:35 we know that high fuel prices are a big part of that.
00:39 So if we can actually get a fairer price for the pump, it will have a positive effect on
00:43 inflation.
00:44 The government is focused on removing competitiveness in fuel pricing.
00:47 The RAC has written to the energy set, Claire Coutinho, who's planning to introduce a pump
00:51 watch scheme.
00:52 As it stands, some retailers voluntarily share their prices, but new rules would make it
00:56 compulsory.
00:57 The secondary measure, the second measure that the government are planning to introduce
01:02 is to have a price monitoring body.
01:04 Now we feel this is absolutely vital, because it will actually show, look at the wholesale
01:09 price, and then look at the retail prices being charged all around the country from
01:13 Bristol to Birmingham to Manchester, London, etc. and see whether drivers are paying a
01:20 reasonable price in comparison to the wholesale price.
01:23 Now of course, when wholesale prices fall, unfortunately, retail prices at the pump are
01:29 notoriously slow to follow suit.
01:31 And this is what's happening at the moment.
01:32 The wholesale price of diesel has been the same as petrol, around £1.12 for some time
01:38 now, yet there's a 6ml difference on the forecourt.
01:42 The average price of petrol is £1.49, and the average price of diesel is £1.56.
01:47 If everything was being properly reflected on the forecourt, they should really be a
01:52 similar price, and they're both overpriced too.
01:55 The real price of both should be around £1.44, £1.45.