Lower fuel prices 'will follow the price of oil'
THE price paid to fill up at the pump does go down when the price of oil falls, retailers have said.
As the price of Brent crude fell to $59 a barrel for the first since since 2009 – half its June level – the Guernsey Motor Trades Association said this should translate to a cut in the price at the pumps of nearly 10p per litre.
'We would expect this reduction to be passed on as we have done, and it has meant prices have fallen over 9.5p per litre on unleaded in the last two months, although a 3p increase was put on and approved at the Budget.'
The price was the lowest it had been for three years, the GMTA said, and retailers have confirmed that when they pay a lower price for wholesale fuel, so will those seeking to top up their tanks.
Barras Lane Convenience Store owner Nigel Staples said his price is reviewed weekly and he is told on a Monday what he will be paying, allowing him to adjust the forecourt prices up or down accordingly.
This week it fell back to 104.9p a litre, from a high of roughly 117p during the summer, he said.
'My price is now 3p lower than it was last week, and I think that if people think they can charge more they will generally lose out,' he said.
'But people forget that the price they see on the news is the price of oil coming out of the ground. It still has to be refined and sold to the wholesaler, who may still have old stocks at the old prices.'
