Petrol and diesel drivers warned of fuel prices that are 'locked at a permanently high level'
Petrol and diesel prices have dropped to their lowest level since February
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Petrol prices have fallen to their lowest level in six months, although experts warn that there is "little cause for celebration".
The average cost of unleaded petrol is now 143p, according to the AA, while diesel prices have fallen to 147.9p per litre - the lowest level since the end of January.
The motoring organisation said drivers were still being hammered with expensive prices, despite the recent fall in price this week.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the highest average price for petrol at the pumps was 142.5p per litre more than 12 years ago in April 2012.
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Drivers face expensive fuel price hikes if the fuel duty cut is scrapped
PAThe pandemic saw petrol and diesel prices plummet with fewer drivers on the road and less demand for fuel, dropping to as low as 106p for petrol and 111p for diesel.
However, drivers were greeted with the highest-ever cost of fuel in June 2022, which saw average costs hit £1.91 per litre for petrol and £1.98 for diesel.
Many filling stations in popular areas routinely charged more than £2 per litre, while some motorway service stations hiked prices to as much as £2.50.
At peak times, a driver of a standard 55-litre family car that runs on diesel would have cost them almost £109 to fill up their tank.
Luke Bosdet, AA fuel price spokesperson, said: “Pump prices this summer have given UK drivers little cause for celebration.
“They may be way below the 191.53p record for petrol in July 2022 but they are currently locked at a permanently and historically high level that drains consumers’ finances."
He also highlighted how drivers would struggle with petrol and diesel costs if the Government were to scrap the five pence per litre fuel duty cut.
When it was first launched in March 2022, prices were 163.3p for petrol and 177p for diesel in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Bosdet said scrapping the fuel duty cut in the October Budget would hammer Britons on the national living wage who drive for their jobs.
The AA forecasted that a driver who fills their car up once a week would lose 5.9 per cent of the benefit gained from living wage increases in the past two years.
The fuel duty cut is worth around 6p per litre when VAT is taken into account, although under the current terms, it will only last until March 2025.
Bosdet added: “For low-paid workers who welcomed a living wage increase of nearly £2 an hour during the cost-of-living crisis, having to pay an extra 6p a litre for road fuel is going to feel like a substantial pay cut.”
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Petrol and diesel prices peaked in the summer of 2022
PAMany have called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to support motorists by extending the fuel duty cut by another 12 months, which would cost the Government around £5billion.