Petrol Prices Fall for the First Time in Six Months

A new RAC Fuel Watch data report has revealed a drop in petrol and diesel prices for the first time in six months, bringing much needed relief to riders and drivers all over the UK.

At the end of March, the average price of a litre of unleaded stood around 136.03p which is nearly 4p down (3.6p to be exact) on the cost at the start of the month (139.62p), and it's the lowest price since late November.

This means drivers are now paying around £74.82 to fill a typical family-sized car with a 55-litre tank, nearly £2 less than they were at the beginning of March. With the average motorcycle fuel tank being around 14 litres the savings are less handy for us bikers, as a tank of fuel dropped from around £19.50 to a whisker over £19.

The average cost of a litre of diesel fell just as quickly as it did for petrol, as it was also down by 4p in March, going from 146.46p to 142.51p.

That’s the lowest since early December 2024. This makes the cost of filling a family-sized car with diesel stand at roughly £78.38, £2.17 less than at the start of March.

But depending on where drivers/riders decide to fill up, they could make even greater savings by shopping around for fuel. RAC analysis of local pump price data shows that some supermarkets and even non-supermarket forecourts are charging under 126p for a litre of unleaded. That’s 10p a litre less than the UK average, and a saving of nearly £5 a tank on a full fill-up for cars - a saving of around a quid or more could be had for bikers.

Diesel can be found for 131p a litre in some locations, an amazing 11p less than the UK average, offering a saving of £6 on a full fill.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “Drivers are finally seeing some relief from high pump prices, which has come at a good time with the start of the Easter school holidays this weekend and one of the biggest bank holidays of the year for travel in just over a fortnight’s time.

“It’s a shame prices on forecourts haven’t fallen further and faster, but this reflects the higher margins many retailers are now choosing to take – something the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) acknowledged earlier this week in its latest report. Ultimately, it’s drivers who lose out – especially those who live in areas where there’s little or no competition among forecourts. We hope the CMA’s new powers to scrutinise prices will be the catalyst for fairer prices everywhere, along with the Government forcing retailers to publish prices within 30 minutes of changing them.”

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