Petrol and diesel drivers are set to save £6 on fuel this December with rates down after months of declines.
According to analysis from breakdown experts at the RAC, the average cost of petrol went up by a penny to 136.5p over November with diesel up by almost 2p to 142.25p.
However, the price of unleaded fuel is still down a whopping 10.5p lower than the same period ahead of Christmas 2023.
The news means motorists are set to save nearly £6 (£5.75) every time they top-up with a 55-litre tank of petrol now costing £75 to fill.
Diesel fuel is now 12p cheaper than last year with motorists making an average savings of £6.60 on rates last December.
This is set to be the cheapest Christmas on the roads for some time with rates also down compared to numbers in 2022.
Petrol is around 23.4p per litre cheaper (around £12.90 for a full tank) than the previous 159.9p rates in December 2022.
Simon Williams, RAC head of policy, admitted the news comes just in time ahead of the big festive travel boom.
He explained: “Heading up to the most expensive time of year for families, it’s good to see that this Christmas is set to be the cheapest for fuel since the pandemic.
“Despite both petrol and diesel rising by a penny and two pence respectively in November, the difference to a year ago is considerable with petrol 10.5p lower and diesel 12p less.
“This is great news for people making long festive journeys to visit friends and families as it should save them around £6 on a tank of fuel compared to last year.”
Data from RAC Fuel Watch has put Essar as the cheapest petrol and diesel supplier in the UK.
The company was charging an average of just 131.9p per litre for petrol and 136.9p for diesel across its 71 UK sites.
This was around 3p per litre cheaper than many of its rivals such as AppleGreen, Murco and JET.
Meanwhile, Asda leads the way for cheaper supermarket fuel with the brand topping the list for both petrol and diesel costs.
However, Simon warned costs could have been even cheaper as he took aim at retailer margins.
He said: “While conditions are clearly better for drivers this Christmas than previous ones, we’re still conscious that prices at the pumps could be slightly cheaper if retailer margins were lower.
“So, it was disappointing to see last week that the Competition and Markets Authority has once again expressed concern about a lack of competition among fuel retailers.
“This comes on the back of the CMA concluding drivers were overcharged by £1.6bn in 2023.”
