Supermarkets 'taking advantage' with fuel prices
The RAC says they're charging far higher prices than they should be
Supermarkets are "taking advantage" of drivers by charging "far higher" fuel prices than they should be.
The RAC accused the UK's biggest fuel retailers of refusing to lower their pump prices, despite a drop in wholesale costs.
It said supermarkets' profit margins are around 15p per litre for petrol and diesel.
This means customers are being charged an "unnecessarily high" average price of 161.0p per litre for petrol and 184.4p for diesel.
This is only 2p per litre lower than the average for all UK forecourts.
Supermarkets normally charge around 3.5p per litre less than the UK average.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: "With many people struggling to put fuel in their cars, it's very sad to see the biggest fuel retailers taking advantage of their customers by charging far higher prices than they should be.
"This is unfortunately a perfect example of prices falling like a feather, the opposite of them rocketing up as soon as the wholesale price rises significantly.
"The supermarkets dominate UK fuel retailing, primarily because they have traditionally sold petrol and diesel at lower prices due to the large volumes they sell.
"Sadly there is now a remarkable lack of competition among the four main players which means prices are far higher than they should be.
"There are smaller, independent forecourts offering more competitive prices than supermarkets, so drivers should shop around."
The cost of living crisis is affecting many people:
Interest rates and inflation go up
Inflation rose by 8.8% in the 12 months to January 2023, down from 9.2% in December 2022. With interest rates also rising to 4%, those saving money will earn more interest on their finances, whilst those paying mortgages would pay more interest to the bank.
Energy bills
The price of energy went up incredibly as the cost of living crisis hit, with the gas price spike caused largely by the war in Ukraine. The price cap - which is set by an independent regulator to help offset costs onto customers - was set to rise to £3,549 for an average home in October but a price freeze from the government restricted the typical bill to £2,500. That's still an increase of 27% from the previous energy cap and as it's a cap on unit cost, the more energy you use the higher your bill will be.
Food prices
The cost of a weekly shop also has gone up as a result of the cost of living crisis. As a result of the war in Ukraine, a number of products including cooking oils and wheat have been disrupted. This means that several products are now considerably more expensive, driving bills up for customers.
Prices at the pumps
The average cost of petrol has also rose to unprecedented levels. Supply lines for petrol have been thrown into doubt as a result of the war in Ukraine, as Russia is a large export partner for gas, oil and fuel. In April 2022, the average price for a litre of petrol on the forecourt was 160.2p, whilst a litre of diesel would cost 170.5p. By late June 2022 the price had risen to an average of 190.9p for a litre of unleaded and 198.9p for a litre of diesel. In March 2023 the price wass on average of 147.03 in petrol and 167.04 in diesel.
Average cost of filling up a car with petrol hits £100
On 9th June 2022, the average cost of filling up a car with petrol hit £100 for the first time ever. Diesel had already hit that milestone. It comes as the cost of fuel hit a record high of one pound eighty a litre. The 2p rise was the biggest daily jump in 17 years. Prices have dropped by at least 20p per litre since the high point.