Fury at the pumps as fuel prices fail to fall alongside tumbling wholesale costs for petrol and diesel

By SOPHIA STANFORD, NEWS REPORTER Published: 07:21, 29 April 2026 | Updated: 07:22, 29 April 2026 Drivers will continue to feel the pinch as the price of fuel at the pumps has not dropped in keeping with the falling cost of wholesale oil.  Petrol has only gone down by around 1p per litre, with diesel dropping by 2p per litre, new figures show. The Royal Automobile Club (RAC), who released the latest data, said these tiny decreases were not in keeping with the cost of these products when wholesale, which has come down in recent weeks. Global oil prices have been below $110 for nearly three weeks, down from a high of nearly $120 last month, as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.  But the cost of filling the average 55-litre tank in a family car with petrol is still over £13 more expensive and £26 dearer with diesel compared to prices on 28 February, when the conflict started.  RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: 'Pump prices aren't falling at the rate that our analysis of wholesale data indicates they should, with petrol only having dropped a penny a litre since 15 April and diesel by 2p.  'Interestingly, we note that prices in Northern Ireland have reduced more quickly as unleaded has already come down by 2p and diesel by more than 4p in the last week. 'The fact the price of oil went back above $100 on Wednesday having been below that mark for 10 days is no doubt cause for concern for retailers.  Drivers will continue to feel the pinch as the price of fuel at the pumps has not dropped in keeping with the falling cost of wholesale oil 'Despite this the cost of both fuels on the wholesale market is still lower than it has been, particularly so for diesel - so drivers really ought to see some cheaper prices at the forecourts in the coming days.' Drivers are expected today to hit the eye-watering £2billion mark of extra costs spent at the pumps thanks to the war in Iran.  The RAC Foundation study, which looked at daily consumption data and price fluctuations between 28 February and yesterday, found higher pump prices will have collectively cost drivers the eyewatering sum by this evening after hitting £1.92billion on Monday. It means Chancellor Rachel Reeves has netted an unexpected bumper VAT windfall of over £300million in just two months since the conflict started, piling pressure on her to use this to scrap her planned fuel tax raid to help out hard-pressed households. The conflict, which has squeezed supplies and sent pump prices soaring, saw brent crude oil prices climbing back up to $112.70 yesterday.   The news comes hours after it was revealed that oil giant BP doubled their profits, rising to £2.5billion in the first three months of the year.  That was more than double the £1billion made in the same period last year and its biggest quarterly haul since 2023 – sparking a furious backlash from critics, including the Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.  The results are an early boost for Meg O’Neill, who became the first female chief executive in BP’s 117-year history when she took over this month.  But even if O’Neill manages to win over the City by turning BP around, she is set to face a rough ride in Westminster with Miliband declaring: ‘Profiting from a crisis is morally and economically wrong. That’s why we’re taxing these windfall profits to help fund support with the cost of living.’ BP declined to respond directly to Miliband’s comments. But O’Neill described further windfall taxes as a ‘highly flawed response’ to the Iran crisis. While BP is benefiting from the higher oil price, the company warned underlying oil and gas production will be flat this year due to disruption in the Middle East. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.