Following months of record fuel prices, the cost of petrol and diesel at the pumps has been falling significantly over the past four weeks.

Behind the fall in pump prices has been the dramatic drop in the price of crude oil, which has fallen by over 50% since the record highs in July.
The cost of a barrel of crude now costs less than $60, compared to a high of $146 just four months ago.

Such has been the rapid decline in pump prices that, last month the average cost of filling up a petrol car fell faster than the record rises during the summer.

The reductions have been most evident at supermarkets, which have engaged in price wars on a nation scale. These reductions have been given further momentum in localised wars, which has seen some areas enjoy prices well below the national average.

At the height of these price wars the biggest ever gap between the highest and lowest priced fuel was created.

According to PetrolPrices.com, at the end of October, the lowest priced unleaded was 97.9p. However, the most expensive was 121.9p - a full 24p more.

For diesel the spread between cheapest and most expensive was 23p.

Typically the gap between most expensive and cheapest is around 17 to 19p.

The price gap over short distances has also increased. PetrolPrices.com found a 15p difference in unleaded over just five miles in Northampton. In London, the gap was 20p over just two miles.

"There's never been a more important time to shop around for fuel. When prices are falling the cheapest stations change every day, so drivers should shop around online to avoid getting caught out,” said Brendan McLoughlin, founder of PetrolPrices.com.

Tesco’s decision to take a lead in price reductions helped knock an unprecedented 2p off a litre of petrol in just one weekend.

According to the latest figures from the AA, nationally, unleaded prices have fallen by 6.5ppl to 106.4ppl in the past month. Supermarket prices for unleaded fell over the month by 7.1ppl to 104.2ppl.

The gap between supermarket prices and the UK average for unleaded has risen to 2.2ppl. Diesel prices have fallen by 6.6ppl to 117.7ppl. The price difference between unleaded and diesel has fallen slightly from 11.4ppl to 11.3ppl.

The North West recorded the lowest price for unleaded at 105.3ppl. Along with Yorkshire and Humberside the North West also has the cheapest diesel at 116.6ppl. Northern Ireland still suffers from the highest pump prices.

Despite the recent fall in prices, the UK still has the eighth highest unleaded price in Europe and the second highest diesel price, much of which is down to the government’s high fuel taxation policy that sees 62.2% of the price of unleaded go to the treasury and 57.6% of diesel go into the public purse.