Petrol sales slump amid high prices and bad weather

High prices and heavy snow helped push down petrol pump sales in the last part of 2009, figures showed today.

Supermarket sales were particularly hard hit - dipping 14.6% in the last three months of 2009 compared with the October-December 2008 figure, according to statistics from the AA.

Measured in tonnage, overall petrol sales in October-December 2009 dipped 9.9% compared with the same period in 2008.

During the October-December 2009 period, the average price of petrol rose from 105.3p a litre to 107.95p. In the same period in 2008, prices plunged from 110.0p a litre to just 87.64p.

Petrol sales for the whole of 2009 were 4.3% down on the 2008 total, with diesel sales falling 1.8%.

AA public affairs head Paul Watters said: "We know through our AA/Populus surveys that 110p a litre is the point at which UK drivers' tolerance of rising fuel prices begins to run low.

"With greater restriction on family budgets from pay restraints, lower savings income and other fall-out from the credit crunch, it should come as no surprise that rising fuel costs started to hit sales below that point."

He went on: "We have consistently argued that putting more fuel duty on petrol and diesel while prices are this high inflicts more pain for no gain.

"If the 2.35p duty and VAT increase in the autumn of 2009 gave the Treasury an extra £1.18 from a 50-litre tankful of petrol, a 10% or five-litre reduction in petrol consumption left Government coffers more than £2 a tank worse off."

Mr Watters said that, during the petrol wholesale price surge earlier this year, supermarkets had initially held back from passing on the full impact while most other retailers did not.

He added: "However, in autumn 2009, most supermarkets competed on price only where they had to. Although the decision whether or not to refuel regularly at a supermarket is a matter of swings and roundabouts, these new sales figures show that drivers can tell a good deal from a bad deal and are prepared to switch retailer."