PETROL prices in Worcester have fallen by 3p in a week as speculation grows that the price could soon slide below £1 per litre, the lowest it has been in five years.

Petrol stations in Worcester were offering unleaded for 113.9 per litre at Sainsbury's and the two Tesco stores in Millwood Drive and St Peter's Drive (from Monday, December 15) as the price of crude oil continues to plummet and motorists reap the rewards.

This represents a fall of 3p in the space of a week when the cheapest prices were 116.9p per litre according to the Petrol Prices website. Diesel is available at 121.9p per litre at Mrh Blackpole, Sainsbury's in Blackpole, Park Elbury Park Service Station in Worcester's Tolladine Road and at both main Tesco stores in Millwood Drive, Warndon Villages and St Peter's. One of the cheapest prices available in the county was at Tesco in Worcester Road, Evesham where the price was just 112.9p per litre for unleaded.

The fall for diesel has not been as dramatic as that for unleaded with motorists paying a penny less at the cheapest forecourts than they were last week (when the cheapest prices in Worcester were 122.9p per litre).

The RAC is optimistic that petrol could soon be selling for under £1 a litre as a result of the plummeting global oil price – a pump price last seen in late May 2009.

In Worcester the cheapest prices are 3p cheaper than the average for unleaded (116.42p per litre) and also cheaper than the average 122.23p per lite for diesel.

Robin Walker, MP for Worcester, said the drop could help stimulate movement and growth and, more importantly, underpin low inflation which had been dropping consistently and had also been consistently low. He said: "Most people are seeing their wages rise faster than inflation which means they have more money in their pockets. It will bring down the cost of living."

The price of Brent crude has fallen below the $60 a barrel mark for the first time since early July 2009 and is predicted to keep on dropping after OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) indicated it will not cut production even if oil hits $40 a barrel.

In July 2009 the average price of unleaded was 103.09p a litre and diesel 104.22p, due to the slightly stronger pound which affects pump prices as fuel is traded in dollars.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “What’s currently happening at the pumps with falling fuel prices is something many motorists will not remember seeing before. Talk of prices going up like a rocket and falling like a feather could not be further from the truth as retailers have been quick to pass on savings at the forecourt since the RAC forecast on December 6 that prices were due to come down by 7p a litre for petrol and 6p for diesel.

"The cost of going to visit family and friends this Christmas will be the cheapest it’s been for nearly five years, but the prospect of petrol going below £1 a litre in the new year is incredible, particularly when prices at the beginning of 2014 seemed to be heading ever upwards."

However, he added: “It is, however, important to realise that the oil and fuel market can always change due to a number factors, including the strength of the pound against the dollar and the global production of oil. If the current oversupply situation remains then it will clearly be good news for motorists and businesses that rely on the road network."