Petrol pump prices continue to fall in part because of the coronavirus crisis.

The lowest prices at island forecourts yesterday (Monday) were 113.9p for unleaded and 119.9p for diesel.

We’ve not seen prices that low since the end of 2015/early 2016.

The coronavirus has contributed to lower prices as the stay at home guidance has put a big dampener on demand.

But the main factor has been a slump in wholesale oil prices following a price war sparked when Saudi Arabia failed to convince Russia to back production cuts agreed with other Opec members.

The price of a barrel of Brent Crude has fallen from $70 in January to close to $30 a barrel by mid-March.

Unleaded petrol prices peaked at just under 150p a litre in May 2012. They were last below £1 a litre in 2008.

Figures compiled by the Office of Fair Trading show that average prices in the island in March were actually lower than in the UK.

Average pump prices at a selection of Manx Petroleum and Ellan Vannin Fuels forecourts was 119.57p on March 27, compared with an average of 120.45p recorded at some 3,500 independent dealer sites, excluding supermarkets.

The average diesel price in the island was marginally below the UK on that same date, at 123.07p a litre compared with 123.29p a litre.

Fuel duty and VAT make up a significant proportion of the forecourt fuel price.

However, it might not last long. In a new development, Opec and others, including Russia, on Sunday, signed off on a deal to cut almost 10 per cent of global supplies, winning backing from the US and other G20 countries for additional measures to prop up a market where demand has fallen by as much as a third.Brent Crude, the international benchmark, initially rose when markets reopened after the long weekend but soon reversed its gains, trading flat near $31.50 a barrel by midday in London, it was reported.