THE PRICE of petrol and diesel has reached a four-year low, according to the latest price survey by AA Ireland.
A litre of petrol now costs an average of 94.6 cent, down 6.8 cent in the last month, according to the survey. The price of diesel fell by 7.4 cent to an average of 94.4 a litre.
In the last six months, petrol and diesel prices have fallen by 30 per cent from average prices of 133.5 cent a litre for petrol and 143.8 cents for diesel.
“The last time fuel was this cheap was February of 2005,” said AA public affairs manager Conor Faughnan.
Oil prices have fallen further in the last few days to $37 a barrel at one point yesterday. Moreover, with the euro’s strength against the dollar, prospects for low prices were good, Mr Faughnan added.
He said the AA calculated that a 1.6 litre petrol car doing 12,000 miles annually and obtaining 30 miles a gallon would use 150 litres of fuel a month. Last July the fuel bill would have been €200, the same bill is now €142.
The reduction of €58 on this monthly fuel bill would have been €70 if the Government had not increased excise duty in the Budget. Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan increased tax on petrol by 8 cent in the Budget, leaving tax on diesel unchanged.
Fuel prices were so high last summer that the consumers’ association called for a cut in excise duty.
