The price of petrol has continued to fall in the Amman and Swansea Valleys, after reaching record highs earlier this summer.

Nationally, the price of petrol fell in July by nearly 9p (8.74p) to 182.69p a litre, with the actions of independent retailers prompting the biggest retailers to finally lower their prices, analysis of RAC Fuel Watch data shows.

This led to nearly £5 being shaved off the cost of a 55-litre tank of petrol (£105.29 down to £100.48). Diesel came down by almost 7p (6.69p) a litre from 199.07p at the start of the month to 192.38p by the close, reducing a fill-up by £3.68 (£109.41 down to £105.81).

But while these are the third and fourth biggest monthly reductions respectively in the last 20 years, the RAC says they still don’t fairly reflect the fall in the wholesale price of fuel, meaning major retailers should be cutting pump prices much further.

Selected local fuel prices, according to PetrolPrices:

  • Texaco Llandeilo – 175.9p for unleaded/188.9p for diesel
  • Tesco Ammanford – 174.9p for unleaded/186.9p for diesel
  • Pontamman Service Station – 169.9p for unleaded/184.9p for diesel
  • Morris Isaac Garage – 160.9p for unleaded/178.9p for diesel
  • Nisa Drefach – 155.9p for unleaded/172.9p for diesel

Despite wholesale petrol prices falling by 20p over the last eight weeks, the average price paid for unleaded by drivers across the UK has only dropped by 9p – all of which came off in July.

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RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “July has been an unnecessarily tough month for drivers due to the big four supermarkets’ unwillingness to cut their prices to a more a reasonable level, reflecting the consistent and significant reductions in the wholesale cost of petrol and diesel.

“As it was, we saw independent retailers leading the charge with fairer pump prices appearing all around the country which eventually forced the supermarkets to finally implement a more substantial cut late last Friday afternoon (29 July).

“What ought to have happened is that the biggest retailers cut their prices more significantly on a daily basis, given the wholesale price of petrol has fallen steadily over the last eight weeks. Instead, average retailer margin for petrol across the industry has been up around 20p a litre for the last two weeks – more than three times its long-term average.”