According to official figures by The Department of Energy and Climate Change fuel sales in the UK have slumped this spring despite a slight dip in pump prices.

The figures reveal that almost 500 million fewer litres of fuel were sold between April and June compared to the same period last year, a 10.6 percent drop.

Edmund King, present of the AA said, “A 10.6 percent fall in petrol sales this past quarter is a huge drop. However, petrol prices slumped more than 10p a litre, from the record of 142.48p a litre in mid April to the low-point of 131.19p at the end of June, and UK drivers began to travel further with lighter evenings, bank holidays and the Queen’s diamond jubilee celebrations.”

[ad]

The news comes as the latest figures from the SMMT show that September’s new car sales in the UK dropped a massive 8 percent compared to sales in 2011. 

This decline in sales could well be a stark reflection of the state of the UK economy with less people able to afford new cars and cutting back on fuel usage in these hard times.