RAC: Petrol could fall to £1 a litre for Christmas

THE PRICE of petrol in the UK should drop to £1 a litre by Christmas if retailers “do the right thing” by passing on savings from the lower crude oil prices, the RAC predicts.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said, “All we need is for the supermarkets to do the right thing and embrace the season of goodwill by passing on those savings at the pump to make Christmas that much cheaper for everyone.”

Just recently, the price of Brent crude oil dropped to its lowest rate since 2009, and now stands at around $40 a barrel. The RAC believe that this should equate to a 3p a litre drop in petrol prices at the pump, bringing the average price down to at 103p. However, many forecourts may choose to be more competitive.

“We are still some way off the average price of unleaded reaching the £1 a litre mark but this will be a big step in the right direction,” he added.

According to reports from the BBC, Supermarkets Tesco and Asda, ran a three-day 99.7p a litre petrol campaign last month, and have currently cut petrol prices by 2p per litre, while Sainsbury’s said it would cut prices by “up to 2p”.

Mr Williams also said, “If retailers don’t pass on the savings quickly, they will be giving themselves an unpopular Christmas boost to profits by pocketing the extra margin when they should really be passing this on to their customers instead.”