Motorists would save £150 a year if retailers passed on petrol price cuts

HARD-pressed drivers would save £150 a year at the pumps if “greedy” retailers pass on cheaper wholesale fuel prices, experts say.

The RAC, AA and FairFuel UK have called for supermarkets and petrol stations to cut prices as market fuel costs drop.

And there are calls for ministers to follow US President Joe Biden’s lead by ordering an official probe if they do not act now on the “rip off” prices at the pumps.

Average petrol prices are hitting record highs of 147.59p, with diesel topping 150.75p per litre, according to analysis by the RAC.

But significant drops in wholesale fuel prices of around 5.6p per litre have yet to be passed on as retailers are still trying to recoup profits lost during pandemic lockdowns.

News of the new Covid variant in South Africa has seen wholesale prices fall further.

The move could save motorists £3 every time they fill up — £156 a year for a family that does so once a week.

The AA has warned many drivers are scaling back their Christmas spending plans to compensate for the high costs.

Labour has thrown its weight behind the call to cut petrol costs, with Shadow Business and Consumer Minister Seema Malhotra saying: “Greedy retailers keeping prices of petrol at record highs despite a drop in wholesale prices is nothing short of a scandal.

“Hard-working families face a triple whammy of crippling costs this winter — with food prices and energy soaring too.

“If retailers and ministers won’t act now, millions of Brits will not be able to afford to be driving home for Christmas this year.”

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams added: “The biggest retailers, who lead the market, have resisted passing these savings on to drivers, instead holding off in the hope the price of oil would go back up.

“This smacks of retailers taking advantage of the public’s general acceptance of rising energy prices.”

FairFuel UK founder Howard Cox said retailers had a moral duty to pass their savings on — or risk the fury of motorists across the nation.

He added: “They must end their shameless, unchecked greed and perennial profiteering of the world’s highest taxed drivers.”