In mid-June 2020, unleaded petrol was on average 106.4p per litre, 21.3p per litre (17%) lower than this time last year. It’s also 25% cheaper than record high prices reached in April 2012.

Meanwhile, diesel was on average 112.5p per litre, 20.9p per litre (16%) lower than a year earlier and 24% below the 2012 peak, according to the statistics from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

It added that in May 2020, average UK petrol prices, including taxes, were the fifth lowest in the EU15. However, diesel prices were the second highest of the EU15 countries.

Turning to energy, BEIS said in Q1 2020, temperatures were slightly warmer than last year and demand for domestic gas increased 4.4%. This, it said, could have been due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic as people began working from home more and the lockdown measures took hold from 23 March.

Gas prices, including VAT, fell by 1.9% in real terms between Q1 2019 and Q1 2020. However, electricity prices were 6.8% higher in real terms than in Q1 2019.

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BEIS revealed that energy switching increased 5% – the equivalent of 1.4 million electricity customers – while 5.1% of gas customers (1.2 million) switched supplier in the three months to March 2020.