Huge drop in fuel sales

Nearly half a billion fewer litres of petrol and diesel were sold between April and June than during the same period last year, says the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

The reduction came despite a fall in fuel prices during the period.

It followed a big rise in the amount of petrol bought at the beginning of the year when the threat of a tanker drivers' strike led to panic buying.

The AA motoring organisation called it a "huge drop."

The figures show that overall more than two billion fewer litres of petrol and diesel were sold compared with the same period in 2008.

In the first half of this year, a total of 16.7 billion litres of fuel was sold on forecourts in the UK.

This compares with total sales of nearly 19 billion litres between January and June 2008.

The AA said the slump was the fault of the fuel industry - which it accused of "trying to squeeze more money out of shrinking customer demand".

AA president Edmund King said: "A 10.6% fall in petrol sales this past quarter is a huge drop.

"While we welcome the fact that new cars have become more fuel-efficient, this goes nowhere near to accounting for the crash in demand over the past three months, and the past five years.

"Ever-increasing prices in recent years have sent petrol sales into steady decline and the panic buying at the end of March may have brought forward sales in early April. Wet weather may also have played a part.

"Price transparency is the way forward: to ensure and show drivers that they are getting a fair deal at the pump."