Petrol price hope as oil keeps falling

Oil prices clocked up a fourth week of decline in a row as worries over global demand grew.

In a boost for motorists hoping for cheaper prices at the pumps, Brent crude ended the week at around $78 a barrel.

That was down from around $81 seven days earlier and followed a 5 per cent slump on Thursday that was only partially reversed yesterday.

The price of oil has fallen almost 20 per cent since trading at around $97 a barrel in late September.

The slump comes just weeks after the World Bank warned the price of crude could top $150 a barrel if the war between Israel and Hamas spirals into full-blown conflict in the Middle East.

Drivers have only seen some benefit from the slide in the oil price with the average litre of petrol falling just 4p in the past four weeks to 151.7p. Diesel slid 3.5p to 158.8p a litre over the same period.

Simon Williams of the RAC branded the failure of supermarkets and other petrol stations to pass lower prices on ‘a scandal’.

He added: ‘Prices have fallen a bit but they are not where they should be.

‘We are calling on retailers to cut prices. Drivers should be paying far less at the pumps.’

Oil prices surged in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia – peaking at close to $130 in March last year.

But it has fallen, with the latest slide coming as the post-Covid recovery in China falters and the eurozone faces recession, while concerns persist over the outlook in the US and the UK.