UK: RAC believes retailers can still pass on more diesel savings as it comments on rising sales
Total fuel sales were up 3.5% on February 2014 with 3.8bn liters of petrol and diesel sold because drivers have increased consumption amid lower prices, RAC said adding it believes prices could be still lower.
February 2015 saw diesel sales at the fifth highest monthly total since 1990 with total sales of 2.42bn liters. Petrol sales were up 2% in the same period but, in contrast to diesel, represented the eighth lowest monthly total since 1990, with 1.48bn liters sold, the RAC report added.
The UK currently has 35.9m vehicles of which 29.7m are cars with one third running on diesel and another third on petrol, or gasoline.
“The reality is that pricing of petrol and diesel does vary between retailers with some choosing to more closely reflect the wholesale price of diesel rather than keeping it artificially higher,” RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said
“The gap between the wholesale price of diesel and petrol has narrowed to just 1p a liter yet average forecourt prices are currently 6p a liter apart (diesel 118.28p v petrol 112.05p). With sales of diesel at such buoyant levels there is scope for a diesel price cut of around 4p a liter to restore some parity to the market,” he added.
