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UK lags behind EU rivals in easing burden of fuel prices

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The RAC has called on Big Four supermarkets such as Tesco to further cut fuel prices as diesel and petrol prices fell by around 9 per cent in December. 
Motorist groups have accused forecourts of profiteering as fuel prices are still too high compared to the wholesale petrol costs.

The UK lags behind many of its EU rivals when it comes to easing the burden of high fuel prices.

Data released today by motoring group RAC has shown that – among the EU countries that have cut petrol taxes since March – only Luxembourg and Croatia have done less for drivers than Britain. 

The 5p per litre cut introduced in the Spring Budget by former chancellor Rishi Sunak seems little when compared to Germany’s 25p per litre, Italy’s 21p or Portugal’s 16p. 

France and Spain have introduced forecourt discounts of 15p and 17p per litre respectively.

Luxembourg and Croatia cut petrol prices by 4.5p per litre, ending at the bottom of the chart for petrol and diesel respectively. 

Unexpectedly, Britain dragged behind most EU countries that didn’t implement any tax cuts, as nine out of 15 already have a cheaper fuel duty than the UK. 

“This analysis lays bare an uncomfortable truth for the UK Government – that compared to other European countries, it’s pretty much done the least to support drivers through the current period of record high fuel prices,” said the RAC. 

The average price of petrol was 184.5p on Wednesday while diesel was 193.9p. 

Prices started to go down in recent days following pressures on retailers to reflect the drop in wholesale costs that started a few weeks ago. 

“The cost-of-living crisis shows no signs of coming to an end anytime soon and it’s frustrating that repeated calls to the UK Government for more support are falling on deaf ears,” the motoring group added.

“Drivers, many of whom depend heavily on their vehicles, need more help and they need it now.”

Commenting on the research, a Treasury spokesperson told CityAM the 5p per litre cut was the “biggest ever cut to fuel duty.”

“We also introduced our biggest ever cut to fuel duty, saving the average UK car driver around £100, van driver around £200 and haulier over £1,500,” they said.

Fed-up drivers staged a series of demonstrations over the last few weeks, blocking major arteries at a time when thousands of people head for their well-deserved holidays.