UK petrol and diesel prices: cost of both fuel types drops

Petrol and diesel costs fell respectively by 3p and 4p per litre in February, subsequent a fall in the wholesale charge of oil.

The regular selling price of a litre of unleaded is now 124.02p, whilst diesel is down to 127.04p per litre, according to the hottest RAC Gas Look at details. This suggests the charge of filling up an regular 55-litre loved ones car or truck with petrol is now £68.21, or £69.87 for diesel.

The reduction in petrol and diesel costs has been driven by a $10 (£7.seventy three) slump in the regular selling price of a barrel of oil around the past nine times of February.

The RAC says that of the significant British isles supermarkets, ASDA was the cheapest, offering petrol for 116.78p per litre – 3.5p less expensive than its closest competitor – and diesel for 118.8p per litre – 4p less expensive than its closest competitor.

Northern Eire experienced the cheapest regional petrol costs – 122.00p per litre on regular – whilst the north-east of England experienced the biggest lower, with regular pump selling price slipping 3.25p per litre there. The identical was legitimate for diesel – Northern Ireland’s regular pump selling price was just 124.59p per litre, whilst north-east England saw a four.56p per litre lower.

At the other conclude of the scale, petrol and diesel have been both equally most expensive in the south-east of England, priced at 125.13p and 128.31p per litre respectively.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams stated:  “While it is very good drivers are benefiting from reduced forecourt costs, in truth the wholesale selling price is these kinds of that the major four supermarkets, which dominate British isles fuel retailing, should really slice their costs once again.

“At the instant both equally fuels are 6p a litre too expensive which suggests for petrol we should really truly be observing a British isles regular of 118p. Sad to say, we never assume diesel will appear down to the 2017 selling price of 119p a litre owing to wholesale costs only dropping to 92p a litre briefly as a final result of oil suffering its biggest weekly drop in extra than four yrs.”

British isles petrol costs

The regular British isles selling price for a litre of petrol was 124.02p towards the conclude of February 2020. The cheapest supermarket to acquire from was ASDA, which billed 116.78p per litre. Northern Eire is the cheapest British isles region to acquire petrol in, whilst the south-east of England is the most expensive.

British isles diesel costs

The regular British isles selling price of a litre of diesel was 127.04p towards the conclude of February 2020. ASDA was the cheapest supermarket to fill up from the black pump at, charging 118.8p per litre. Northern Eire is the cheapest British isles region to acquire petrol in, whilst south-east England is the most expensive.

What makes up the selling price of British isles fuel?

The selling price of fuel can be divided into three sections the taxes imposed by the Government, the costs of drilling, refining and transporting, and the revenue margins for the fuel businesses.

For petrol, diesel and bioethanols, the Government will get about sixty five per cent of the over-all charge by fuel duty and worth extra tax (VAT). The fuel duty represents the fastened selling price of fuel – it stays the identical regardless how a lot over-all oil costs fluctuate. Now, the Treasury adds fifty seven.ninety five pence to every litre of fuel by fuel duty, and one more 20 per cent by VAT. How a lot you shell out in VAT relies upon on how a lot fuel you purchase.

The second biggest chunk arrives from the wholesale costs of the fuel itself. The wholesale charge is a mix of forex exchange fees, world wide oil costs, and even domestic supply and demand from customers.

Eventually, the smallest share of what motorists have to shell out for fuel arrives from the filling stations themselves. A usual fuel station revenue about 2p-5p per litre, but hard level of competition can push this down even more. Supermarkets significantly use fuel costs as a reduction leader to tempt prospects in.

Why is supermarket fuel less expensive than an unbiased forecourt?

Grocery store forecourts commonly supply the cheapest fuel costs and this is due to the fact of the market electric power supermarkets keep. Businesses like Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons are all in level of competition with one one more, so they continue to keep fuel costs as small as feasible hoping that when motorists appear to fill their tank, they could possibly do their weekly grocery purchasing, too. 

There are persistent rumours that supermarket fuel includes less additives and is of lesser high quality than fuel from conventional forecourts, but there’s minimal really hard evidence of this. All fuel offered in the British isles has to abide by the specifications set in the Motor Gas Regulation. 

Why is fuel so expensive on motorways?

Motorway fuel stations argue the reason their costs are increased is that several of them are open 24 several hours a working day and supply extra services than a regular forecourt. Motorway fuel stations also shell out high lease costs for the properties they operate.

In extra distant areas, fuel is normally extra expensive due to the fact of the increased transportation and supply costs, but according to RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams, this doesn’t apply to motorway stations: “We can see no reason why motorway fuel should really be so a lot extra expensive. In actuality, arguably it is a lot simpler from a supply place of check out than it is obtaining fuel to city filling stations.”

Why is diesel extra expensive than petrol?

Whilst diesel and petrol are taxed the identical by the Treasury, traditionally diesel has been extra expensive than petrol, as domestic refineries have struggled to meet demand from customers. This has forced the British isles to import diesel from other nations at a better amount than petrol. In addition, diesel costs are pushed up by the charge of the additives that go into the fuel.

Additionally, the gap amongst British isles petrol and diesel costs widens throughout the wintertime. The conclude of the US “driving season” suggests vendors have a surplus of petrol they simply cannot export, so they offer it in this article at a reduced selling price. Diesel demand from customers, meanwhile, improves throughout continental Europe, wherever the fuel is commonly utilized in heating oil.

Nevertheless, the influx of low cost diesel from nations like Saudi Arabia has turned the tide, swinging diesel wholesale costs nearer to that of petrol, and bringing the pump selling price down with it.

What is your check out on fuel costs in the British isles? Do we shell out too a lot for our petrol and diesel? What would you do about it? Sign up for the debate in our responses portion under…