RAC says petrol prices fall to three-year low

“We believe there is scope for pump prices to come down further in the next few weeks to reflect the lower wholesale costs retailers are paying when they buy fresh fuel stocks,” Mr Williams said.

Depending on where drivers were filling up, he said people could be “paying as little as £1.26 for a litre of unleaded – making the cost of refuelling a typical family car come in at under £70”.

The average price of diesel is around £1.41 per litre which is also close to a three-year low, based on data from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

The falling price of fuel will come as a boost to drivers, who have been hit hard in recent years by higher prices for all consumer goods.

The RAC has been critical of retailers, claiming that they have failed to drop prices as swiftly as they should have as wholesale costs have fallen.

Concerns over fuel prices prompted the competition regulator, the CMA, to look into the sector.

It said in July weakened competition in the fuel sector was impacting drivers’ wallets and that supermarkets’ profit margins – which is the difference between the price they buy fuel at and what they charge motorists – had doubled since 2019.

But the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), which represents independent forecourts, has argued its members’ margins have been “under pressure” due to higher labour and energy costs, and reduced sales.