But Simon Williams, the RAC motoring group’s fuel spokesman, said while tankers avoiding the Red Sea had the “potential to push up the oil price, the barrel is still below $80, $15 lower than it was at the end of September”. “Talk of this immediately affecting fuel prices is unhelpful as we are still waiting for retailers to fully pass on the savings from much lower wholesale costs. We don’t want to give them a reason not to continuing cutting their prices, especially at the most expensive time of the year,” he added.