Petrol below £1.50 a litre for first time since Russia invaded Ukraine

Average petrol prices have fallen below 150p a litre for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine, the AA motoring group says.

Pump prices hit 149.74p per litre on Monday, lower than last February and down from a record 191.53p in July.

The AA said falling global oil prices were behind the drop, calling it “a huge relief for drivers”.

But it said diesel still cost more than last year at 172.21p a litre compared with 153.05p.

AA spokesman Luke Bosdet said it now cost about £23 less to fill an average-sized 55-litre car with petrol than it did in July, at roughly £82.

However, he said petrol prices were “still historically way above” what they should be and that the end of a temporary fuel duty cut this March could lead to fresh rises.

Petrol stations in cities and towns are also charging up to 10p more for fuel than those in rural parts of the UK, he added.

Fuel prices began to rise last year as countries ended Covid lockdowns but surged higher when Russia – a major oil producer – invaded Ukraine, sparking concerns about global supplies.

By July last year, the cost of filling an average-sized car had hit £105.29, according to the RAC motoring group, while for diesel it was £109.47.

The government has cut fuel duty by 5p a litre since February last year to help drivers, with the overall cut worth 6p when VAT is factored in, the AA says.

However, the discount is scheduled to end in March.

David Cox, an independent energy analyst, told the BBC that concerns over global oil supplies had subsided as countries had found alternatives to Russian crude, sending prices lower.

However, he warned oil prices were likely to rise again as China eased its strict Covid rules and fully reopened its economy.

“I think the outlook [for oil and petrol prices] is it will go back up. We’re in for a prolonged period of higher prices.”

The news comes as the RAC said the cost of rapid-charging an electric car using a public charging network had increased by about 50% in the past eight months.

It now costs an average of 70.32p per kilowatt hour to rapid charge on a pay-as-you-go basis, up from 44.55p last May and from 63.29p last September, the motoring group said.

The rises – which are being driven by increasing energy costs – mean that drivers now pay £36 to charge a typical family-sized electric car with a 64kWh battery to the level required to cover around 188 miles, it said.

However, it added that those who charged at home were still getting “great value”, paying about half as much.

The RAC’s electric vehicles spokesman, Simon Williams, said cutting the level of VAT on electricity sold at public chargers to 5% to match what people pay at home would be one way of keeping prices under control.

“It continues to be the case that those who can charge at home or at work and who don’t use the public rapid charging network very often get fantastic value – even given the relatively high domestic energy prices right now.

“Sadly, the same can’t be said for people who either can’t charge at home or at work, or who regularly make longer journeys beyond the range of their cars. There’s no question they have to pay far more, and in some cases more than petrol or diesel drivers do to fill up on a mile-for-mile basis.”