British drivers are still waiting for cheaper fuel at the pumps even though the price of oil has fallen sharply in the past week. Brent crude, the international benchmark, closed at $117.64 a barrel on 30 October, dropped 8.7 per cent on Wednesday 4 November to $94.62, and settled on Friday 6 November at $98.32, according to Swiss Financial Time, which cited Rigzone and Bloomberg.

Yet forecourt prices have barely budged. Figures from PetrolPrices.co.uk, reported by Visordown, put average unleaded petrol at about 170.6p a litre and diesel at about 198.3p on 6 November, little changed from 172.78p and 198.58p respectively for the week ending 2 November.

The main reason is timing. The RAC says it typically takes around two weeks for a change in wholesale fuel costs to work through the supply chain and show up at the pump, so this week's drop in crude has not yet had time to feed through. Tax also blunts the effect: drivers pay 57.95p a litre in fuel duty, with 20 per cent VAT charged on the final price including that duty.

Campaign group FairFuelUK has put retailers on notice and says it will track petrol and diesel prices over the next seven, 14, 21 and 28 days to see how quickly any reductions reach forecourts. There is a catch, however: Brent bounced back on Thursday 5 November, rising $3.67 to $98.29 after reports of attacks on tankers in the Gulf, so the window for cheaper fuel may narrow again before it reaches drivers.