The AA has warned that petrol prices remain “uncomfortably close” to their peak levels from the first two years of the Ukraine war despite a global slump in oil prices.
According to the motoring group, the average pump price has held steady at 139.8p per litre over the past week, even as wholesale prices have dropped sharply in the last fortnight.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined by 1.4% today to $73 per barrel, marking a more than 4% fall from over $76 at the beginning of February. Typically, every $2 change in oil prices translates to a 1p per litre shift in fuel prices, assuming a stable exchange rate.
However, the AA’s data indicates that pump prices have actually risen since the start of the month, increasing from 139.2p to 139.8p. Government figures from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero also show a similar trend, with average prices rising from 138.7p to 139.6p.
AA spokesman Luke Bosdet warned that if prices “don’t start falling pronto,” the competition regulator may take an interest. He also noted that the Chancellor’s decision to maintain the fuel duty freeze helped prevent a further rise.
“Had she ended Rishi Sunak’s 5p fuel duty cut (6p with VAT), we would be looking at petrol prices around 146p per litre,” Bosdet said. “That would have pushed us back into the ‘perma-high’ pump price period of post-Covid and the first two years of the Ukraine war. Right now, we are uncomfortably close again.”
