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Motor fuel price inflation falls for seventh month in a row

Rising prices for motor fuel have continued to slow, with their annual inflation rate falling from 7.7% to 4.6% between January and February 2023.

This is the seventh consecutive monthly fall, down from a peak of 43.7% in July 2022.

Overall transport price rises are also continuing to ease, from 3.4% in the year to January 2023 to 3.1% in the year to February 2023.

This is the eighth month where transport inflation has fallen, down from a peak of 15.2% in June 2022, and the lowest rate since February 2021.

There was more variation in price changes across passenger transport by road, rail and air.

Rail prices rose by 5.3% in the year to February 2023, which is the lowest rate since June 2022, and some way below the July 2022 peak of 8.7%.

More than a third (35%) of adults reported cutting back on non-essential journeys because of the rising cost of living, when asked between 8 and 19 March 2023.

That was up slightly from 33% in the previous period (22 February to 5 March 2023) but still well below a high of 51% in the period from 17 to 29 August 2022.

As motor fuel inflation eases, prices at the pumps are falling.

Average petrol and diesel prices stood at 148.0 and 169.5 pence per litre, respectively, in February 2023.

Petrol prices fell by 1.4 pence per litre between January and February 2023, compared with a rise of 2.5 pence per litre between the same two months a year ago. Similarly, diesel prices fell by 2.6 pence per litre this year compared with a rise of 2.8 pence per litre a year ago.