Petrol drivers are continuing to get a raw deal at the pumps, insists the RAC, despite record falls in the price of fuel.

Pump prices, it says, remain a long way off what it believes are fair given current wholesale costs and this is despite a further 12p coming off the average price of petrol last month.

The average cost of a litre of unleaded is now under 170p for the first time since May - according to website Petrol Map average prices in Kent currently hover around the 164p mark - and cuts by retailers in August took the cost of a filling a 55-litre petrol car from £100 at the start of the month to £93.39 by the end.

But with the average weekly delivered wholesale price of petrol continuing to fall to reach just 124.08p last week - and allowing for a 'significant' retailer margin - the RAC believes forecourt pumps are still somewhat adrift for unleaded fuel.

The last time the delivered wholesale price of petrol was at this current level was back in late April when retailers were charging around 162p for a litre of petrol.

The RAC say it expects a litre should now be around 161p to reflect the reductions - with very few stations consistently offering petrol at this price it claims.

Drivers of diesel vehicles saw 8.35p coming off the average price of a litre with the pump price ending August at 183.71p, an amount the RAC says is a fairer reflection of current wholesale costs.

Further investigations into prices by the RAC also show that supermarkets, which have always traditionally led on the best fuel prices, are no longer necessarily the cheapest places for drivers to fill up with unleaded with independent retailers in some locations now offering a significantly better deal. Analysis also suggests supermarkets in some parts of the country appear to be charging less for the same fuel than in other areas.

RAC spokesperson Rod Dennis said: "Twelve pence a litre is a lot to come off prices in a single month so there’s no doubt things could be worse, but in reality drivers of petrol vehicles are still invariably getting a raw deal at the pumps. For whatever reason, major retailers are choosing not to pass on in full the reductions in the wholesale price of unleaded they’ve been benefiting from for some considerable time now – and this continues to mean drivers are often paying much more every time they fill up than they should.

"Drivers must shop around for the best deal they can, and we applaud those independent retailers who are doing their best to charge a fairer price for fuel and support their local communities through this incredibly expensive time."

The RAC said it would also like to see the UK's next Prime Minister also do more to help drivers - citing the French government as an example which has increased its discount on fuel to 30 cents up from 15 on September 1, which will result in pump prices being under the equivalent of £1.50 a litre across the country.
Rod Dennis added: "There’s also no getting away from the fact that fuel can make up a huge chunk of a household’s monthly expenditure alongside energy costs.

"We urge the incoming Prime Minister to heed our calls for more financial assistance for drivers, such as a deeper cut in fuel duty, and to look carefully at the much more generous packages of help being offered to those in other countries across Europe."