Motorists have been warned that petrol and diesel prices could rise again after Christmas following recent dips at the pumps.
And motorists could be hit with a double whammy increase in the new year as the Government cuts on excise duty run out.
A new AA Ireland report published on Wednesday found that fuel prices drop by 10.5% on average.
The average price of a litre of petrol is now €1.60 per litre, a 17c drop since last month and the lowest average price for petrol since September 2021.
The average price for a litre of diesel is now €1.74. Diesel prices had been steadily increasing and are now also down significantly, with a drop of 22c per litre compared to November.
It is the lowest price recorded in Ireland for diesel since February 2022, when the war in Ukraine broke out.
However, Paddy Comyn, head of communication with AA Ireland, told the Irish Mirror that prices are likely to increase again.
“This is likely to be the bottom for the moment,” he explained.
“We are already seeing, and I was talking to petrol retailers, that diesel is going up a little bit again.
“The price for a barrel of oil was $75 a barrel. It is about $80 now. A lot of analysts are saying it will go up again to almost $100 a barrel after Christmas.
“That is speculation.
“The prices will probably remain kind of steady and will remain not too far from where we are until up to Christmas.
“It might be possible that after Christmas, things will go up again.
“That is speculation rather than concrete facts.
“But at the moment, things are thankfully reasonable and will stay that way up until Christmas.
“It is safe to say it will go up, it is just a question of how much.
“Over the next few weeks, it will be a trickle, but it won’t be anything too dramatic.”
The Government announced in September that it was extending excise duty cuts on petrol and diesel until the end of February.
The Irish Mirror understands that there are currently no plans for these cuts to be extended.
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