In March, UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in his Spring Statement that fuel duty will be cut by 5p per litre, to help ease the pressure of the cost of living crisis. The decision, which took effect from 6pm on March 23, was the first time in 20 years the cost has been cut. The Chancellor told MPs the cut, which will be in place until March 2023, was the biggest ever and would be worth more £5bn to families and businesses.
The Chancellor's historic move promised some much-needed respite, as the RAC revealed that the price of fuel reached broke records in March. RAC Fuel Watch data recorded not only a new record-high price of 167.3p just the day before the fuel duty cut was implemented, but the average cost of a litre of unleaded petrol also went up by 11.62p to end the month at 163.28p per litre. You can read all our stories on fuel prices here.
The RAC said this is the largest increase it has ever recorded in a single month. It was an even worse story for diesel, which shot up by 22.06p per litre to 177.29p, having peaked at 179.9p on March 23, according to the RAC. We paid a visit to pumps in Wales to compare prices before and after the Chancellor's announcement came into force, which you can read about here . Our findings were mixed: while supermarkets seemed to be going along with the UK Government and passing on a 5p per litre saving to customers, some providers did not - with some having even increased their prices.
On April 6, the RAC acknowledged that, while drivers would have been paying even more for fuel if the cut hadn't been introduced, the results of the cut had been "disappointing" two weeks in. RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: "Petrol prices have only come down by an average of 3.73p since 23 March, taking them to a level seen just three-and-a-half weeks ago, with diesel down even less – by just 2.61p on average.
"The fact pump prices have fallen so little reflects the fact that the cost to retailers of buying fuel had been going up ahead of the Spring Statement. Had the Chancellor temporarily cut VAT rather than fuel duty on fuel, as we asked him to do, the impact on pump prices would have been immediate with drivers benefitting straight away."
But has the situation improved a month on? We've compared prices at pumps in Cardiff from the day after the fuel duty cut was implemented with prices on Wednesday, April 20, to see the difference. The images on the left are the prices on March 24 and the images on the right were taken on Wednesday, April 20.
Morrisons on Newport Road
Prices for unleaded petrol have remained the same at 156.7p per litre at Morrisons in Cardiff, but the cost of diesel has reduced by 3p from 173.7p per litre to 170.7p per litre.
Texaco on Newport Road
Texaco on Cardiff's busy Newport Road saw some of the largest reductions in price. The price of unleaded reduced by 6p, from 165.9p per litre to 159.9p per litre. Meanwhile a litre of diesel now costs 174.9p per litre - a 12p reduction compared with 186.9p in March.
Shell on Newport Road
Shell on Newport Road saw the exact same reductions as Texaco. The price of a litre of petrol now stands at 159.9 - 6p less than the price of 165.9p per litre around a month ago. The cost of diesel has fallen by 12p, from 187.9p per litre to 175.9p per litre.
Texaco at Pentwyn Services
Texaco in Pentwyn also showed some promising reductions. Unleaded petrol will set you back 162.9p per litre (7p less than 169.9p a month ago) while diesel costs 178.9p (a 6p reduction - it stood 184.9p per litre the day after the fuel duty cut in March).
Sainsbury's on Colchester Avenue
Like Morrisons, the cost for petrol at Sainsbury's on Colchester Avenue remained the same at 156.9p per litre. Diesel saw a 4p increase, from 168.9p to 172.9p on Wednesday.
Esso on Newport Road
There were reductions at Esso on Newport Road, too. A litre of unleaded has fallen by 6p, from 165.9 to 159.9, while diesel saw an even bigger reduction of 12p, from 187.9p to 175.9p per litre.
Last time we checked the day after the fuel duty cut came into force, it was supermarkets that seemed to be following the UK Government and reducing their prices by 5p, whereas other providers fell short. Our findings this time showed that those same providers seem to be catching up with their supermarket competitors - with Texaco, Shell and Esso, all on Newport Road, seeing a 6p decrease for petrol and a 12p decrease for diesel.
Meanwhile, the prices at the two supermarket forecourts we visited remained the same for petrol, with only a change in the costs of diesel. But supermarkets still seem to be cheaper overall from our sample size - so the best advice is to fill up at your nearest supermarket and make a mental note of which filling stations are offering cheaper prices in your area.
In terms of what drivers can expect to come, RAC Fuel Watch records high latest UK average prices for unleaded petrol (161.93p per litre) and diesel (175.89), but states that both of these "should fall". To receive more stories about fuel prices and the cost of living crisis straight to your email inbox, click here.
