Oil price fall 'not reflected at pump'

The dip in world oil prices has so far not been reflected in petrol pump charges being paid by hard-up UK motorists.

The global price of a barrel of oil fell below the $120 a barrel mark on Monday for the first time since May.

But although UK pump prices have dipped from their July 2008 high the amount charged at some service stations has actually gone up.

World prices peaked at around $147 a barrel and this pushed average UK pump prices up to around 120p a litre for petrol and about 133p a litre for diesel.

According to the AA, average UK fuel prices were 115.25p a litre for petrol and 128.42 a litre for diesel.

AA president Edmund King said: "Generally over the last couple of weeks the global price of a barrel of oil has dropped from its peak of $147 to $120."

"Slowly but surely we have seen a steady decline in pump prices which was initiated by the supermarket price war. However, the diesel price has crept up slightly in the last day or so."

He added: "Any pump price above £1 per litre causes hardship and misery for many millions of car dependent motorists. Already 55 per cent of AA members have cut back on journeys due to prices at the pumps and others are sticking to speed limits and eco driving to make their expensive fuel go further."

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