Perth petrol will dip below $1.70 per litre for the first time in more than a month while the cost of diesel continues its steep descent, dropping a further 10 cents a litre on Thursday.

The cost decline is welcome news for drivers who had been forced to pay upwards of $2 a litre for unleaded since early March amid flow-on effects of conflict in the Middle East, including local panic buying and dramatic reductions in supplier allocations.

Drivers across Perth’s metro area on Thursday will be charged as little as $1.69/litre for unleaded, with Oakford, Beckenham and Landsdale locations the cheapest.

The last time ULP was below $1.70/litre was on March 7 when Burk Cannington sold it for $1.57/litre.

Diesel’s freefall continues with the average price in Perth on Thursday $2.60/litre and a truck stop in Oakford selling for as little as $2.29/litre.

The average for unleaded across Perth will be $1.87/litre, down 6.7 cents from Wednesday. Still, not everywhere will be cheap, with many servos across Perth continuing to charge more than $2/litre.

All chains will sell unleaded for slightly cheaper on Thursday, with United having the cheapest average of $1.78/litre, followed by Vibe at $1.81/litre and Reddy Express with $1.83/litre.

Petrol will be more expensive in regional towns, with prices in Bunbury, Busselton and Albany’s averaging between $1.90/litre and $2/litre.

In the north, prices from Geraldton up to Port Hedland remain above $2/litre.