Fuel prices have had their biggest weekly fall since current records began, figures show.
Government data revealed the average cost of a litre of petrol was £1.12 on Monday, compared with £1.20 seven days earlier.
Diesel fell from £1.23 to £1.19 over the same period.
Some retailers were even pricing their petrol at less than £1 per litre.
It is the largest weekly drop in cash and percentage terms for both fuel types in records which date back to June 2003.
Supermarkets Asda and Morrisons reduced their fuel prices by 12p per litre for petrol and 8p for diesel last week.
The last time the average price of petrol was cheaper was October 2016, while diesel is at its lowest price since August 2017.
The fall has been driven by oil prices plunging in the past few weeks since Covid-19 took hold across Europe.
They were also heavily dented when Saudi Arabia, which produces around 10% of the world’s oil, decided to slash prices and ramp up production in a trade war with Russia.
On Monday oil prices fell to an 18-year low after the Saudis revealed plans to increase oil exports to 10.6 million barrels a day from May, a 6% increase.
The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, the most used measure, has fallen by around 64% since the beginning of the year.
It rebounded slightly by 3.1% to 23.49 US dollars per barrel on Tuesday after Russia and the US agreed to talks to help stabilise the markets.
The number of motorists who can take advantage of cheaper fuel is limited though, as the Government has ordered people to only go outside for food, health reasons or to commute if they cannot work from home.
AA fuel price spokesman Luke Bosdet said: “Pump prices are beginning to reflect the plunge in costs but there is much further for them to fall.
“Lower pump prices are not an excuse for people with cars to break the lockdown and drive unnecessary journeys. But they do offer some welcome news to lift drivers’ spirits.”
RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: “The biggest beneficiaries will be key workers who have to keep driving whilst the rest of us restrict journeys to a minimum.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel