Gasoline prices will remain the same even though oil globally has become dramatically cheaper, according to the Government.

The price at the pump will stay at 234.1 cents per litre, the price set by David Burt, the Premier and finance minister, in February 2022 in a bid to drive down the cost of living.

Global prices rose in the following months, hitting a peak of 274 cents per litre in July, according to Platts, an oil industry news and information service.

The 234.1 threshold was broken in December and prices remained below that level until last month, when gasoline hit 238.9 cents a litre.

This month, prices dipped slightly but remained above the cap at 238.1 cents per litre according to Platts.

Mr Burt confirmed that the 234.1 price cap was back in play.

He said: “The price at the pump for gasoline as of May 16, 2023 is expected to remain at 234.1 cents a litre.

“This price is equal to the February 2022 level of 234.1 cents a litre, at which prices were capped for the last 14 months while global prices soared.”

In January, after prices had fallen below the cap, Mr Burt said: “I’m pleased that today I can announce that gasoline prices are no longer frozen at last February’s levels, but those prices are going down.”

Mr Burt also claimed that, when prices were at their highest last summer, the policy had saved motorists an average of $25 every time they filled up their tank.

But according to Royal Gazette calculations, the cap has cut the cost of a tank of gas by $6 on average, from $123 to $117, since it was imposed 14 months ago.

The cost of diesel and kerosene dipped this month according to the latest figures.

Diesel fell to 207.2 cents a litre, down from 211.1 cents last month. For the previous 13 months, it had been above the government capped rate of 212.2 cents a litre.

Kerosene fell to 174.6 cents a litre, the lowest price since February 2022, when the Government imposed a price cap of 178.6 cents a litre.