Lower petrol prices fuel rise in sales on forecourt

UK motorists bought 1.51 billion litres of petrol in April – a big rise on the record low of 1.37 billion litres in March, HM Revenue and Customs statistics highlighted by the AA showed.

Last month’s total was still down on the 1.68 billion litre figure of April last year when sales were boosted by panic buying over the threat of a tanker strike.

Diesel sales, which include lorry and commercial vehicle sales, totalled 2.29 billion litres last month – a rise on the March total of just under 2.11 billion litres.

The AA pointed out that the price of petrol at the pumps had fallen around 8p a litre in April.

Average petrol prices, which were as high as 140p a litre at the beginning of March, were as low as 133.22p on May 12 but up a fraction to 133.75p at the beginning of this week.

AA/Populus research among 21,510 AA members in mid-April showed high pump prices were forcing large numbers to cut back on car use.

The AA added that each of the three 8p to 10p petrol pump surges in the past 12 months caused petrol sales to slump as family budgets snapped under the strain.