Petrol prices dip - but rise 14p year-on-year

Petrol prices have fallen after spending most of June over 118p-a-litre, the AA today said.

But, despite the drop, prices at the pumps are still more than 14p above the average cost in mid July last year.

The average price of unleaded has fallen 0.6p to 117.5p today, while diesel prices dipped by the same amount to 119.9p.

Some petrol stations in the West Midlands, including at BP service station in Wolverhampton, were still selling unleaded petrol at more than 118p-a-litre.

And hauliers today said fuel prices had to come down to save businesses. Gary Owen, manager of Bilston-based Highfield Haul-age, said: "Fuel prices have got to come down.

"It's just taking the profit margins away on our business because we are working with such low margins now. Customers won't give us price increases because they cannot afford to.

The knock-on effect for us is that we simply cannot afford to keep filling up because we can't get that money back off our customers.

"Petrol and wages are our biggest outgoings and that is what's hitting us. I think this is going to put a lot of people out of business. We're buying 30,000 litres a month and it's really hurting us. We've been in business since 1960 but I don't know how much longer we will be."

At BP service station, on Stubbs Road, Wolverhampton the cost of unleaded today was 118.9p and drivers had to pay 122.9 for diesel. At BP Supermart on Willenhall Road in Bilston unleaded is selling for 115p and diesel at 117p.

Massih Usuf, manager at Texaco on Stafford Road in Wolverhampton, said: "At the moment we are selling unleaded at 116.9p and diesel is 119.9p."

Mr Usuf said he did not expect motorists to see petrol prices dip to the levels we had seen last year as the price of oil remained $76 a barrel, according to the AA.

Mr Usuf added: "I don't see the price of petrol going down much more to the price that it was last year but it's difficult to say.

"The hope is that petrol prices continue to drop. If the cost of oil goes down, we could afford to lower our prices."

The gap between supermarket prices for unleaded also fell over the last month by 0.8p to 115.5p. The drop sees the difference means the gap between supermarket prices and the UK average has widened to 2p.

Across the UK, London recorded the highest price for unleaded at 118.7p, while Yorkshire and Humberside could boast the cheapest diesel at 118.8p.

The UK still has the ninth highest unleaded price in Europe and the second highest diesel price.