Petrol firms call for duty freeze
- 00:01:22
- ITN
Petrol firms call for duty freeze
Petrol retailers have called for a freeze on fuel duty to help reduce forecourt prices. The cost of petrol is 9 per cent less than three months ago after oil prices plummeted to their lowest level for a year, according to the AA. But prices are still over 11p a litre more than this time last year, an equivalent increase of £5.70 for a 50-litre refill. Ray Holloway, director of the Petrol Retailers Association, said: "Gordon Brown always has the ability to reduce fuel prices through a fuel tax reduction, but avoids it. "The price of fuel at the pump is influenced by a range of factors beyond just the price of a barrel of oil but despite this, forecourt retailers have still managed to reduce the cost of fuel to the motorist at the expense of their own profit margin during recent weeks. "Prices for crude oil and forecourt fuel are obviously linked but they do not move in tandem. Therefore they do not automatically move up or down at the same time." Supermarket giant Tesco lowered unleaded and diesel by 3p across its 430 UK forecourts on Friday. It follows a penny cut by rival Asda at the start of this week, and price drops made by a host of retailers last month. The latest fall in the price of oil came as stock markets plunged around the world, leaving crude oil trading below $80 a barrel for the first time in a year.
ITN | October 11, 2008
