Table of Contents
- The average price of petrol is 135.2p after the Chancellor confirmed a fuel duty freeze.
Fuel prices remain at their lowest level in three years, according to the latest data from the RAC.
The average price of petrol at the pump is now 135.2p after the Chancellor confirmed in the Budget that fuel duty would remain frozen for another 12 months.
It also comes despite a brief rise in the price of oil in October as tensions continue to rise in the Middle East.
The average price of petrol at the pump is now 135.2p after the Chancellor confirmed in the Budget that fuel duty would remain frozen for another 12 months.
According to RAC Fuel Watch, 135.2 liters of petrol currently costs a third of a pence in September, meaning the cost of filling up a 55-litre family car is £74.40.
Diesel rose by two-thirds of a pence to 140.2p, bringing the cost of filling up the tank of a family car to just over £77.
Diesel in the UK is the most expensive in Europe and has been for the last 21 of 27 weeks.
There are ways to keep the cost of filling up your tank down, even by going to the supermarket: the average price of unleaded petrol bought at one of the 1,487 petrol stations across the country is 132p and diesel is 136.8p .
Currently, filling up at a supermarket can save drivers 3p per litre, or almost £2 per tank.
And being a member of retailer Costco’s also pays off at the pump, with 20 Costco stores in England and Scotland selling petrol for 127p a liter and diesel for 131.7p – more than 8p less than the UK average.
One part of the UK that is benefiting from even lower petrol prices is Northern Ireland.
Petrol currently has an average price of 130.4p and diesel 134.1p – 5p and 6p less than the UK average for both fuels, and 2p cheaper than the average supermarket price .
Apart from freezing fuel taxes for the 15th consecutive year, the Budget revealed that the Government will begin controlling fuel prices within two months.
Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, said: “With prices still at least five pence a liter cheaper in Northern Ireland than the UK average, it was also positive to see in the budget that the Government intends to allow The Competition and Markets Authority will use its legal powers to rein in competition in the retail road fuel market in just two months.
‘The Government has also recognised, as the RAC has been advocating for some time, that ‘this role will be crucial in providing ongoing scrutiny of prices and considering whether further measures may be needed to protect consumers.’
The Government’s ‘Fuel Finder’ scheme will come into force at the end of 2025, meaning each retailer must report their prices to a central database within 30 minutes of making a change.
During last week’s Budget, the Chancellor said raising fuel taxes “while the cost of living remains high and against a backdrop of global uncertainty” would have been the “wrong choice for workers”.
Motoring groups welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement, the RAC said motorists will “breathe a huge sigh of relief” and AA president Edmund King said: “On this Halloween budget eve, the Chancellor has conjured up a gift for drivers”.
What does the freezing of the 5p cut mean for drivers?
Fuel taxes (and VAT) already account for more than half of what drivers pay at the pump. Currently, 56% of each liter of gasoline is subject to tax and 54% of diesel.
If Rachel Reeves had removed the 5p cut with immediate effect, the cost of a liter of petrol and diesel would have increased by 6p, and an extra pence would have been added to the bill as a result of the increase in VAT on road fuels .
On Budget day, the average price of unleaded petrol was 135.3p. So in theory it would have jumped to 141.32p, while diesel would have risen from 140.3p to 146.3p.
This would have meant that an average family car with a 55-litre fuel tank would have cost an extra £3.30 to fill up.
Over the course of a year, based on an average mileage of 7,000 miles per year, drivers could expect to have shelled out an extra £48 on fuel bills over the course of a year.
How do crude oil prices influence the price of gasoline?
The industry standard is to charge 1p per liter at the pump for every $2 per barrel change in the price of crude oil, meaning an increase of $20 will mean a £5.50 increase in the cost of fill a typical 55 liter tank. fuel tank.
And retailers’ margins are adding more than 6p per liter to the cost of petrol.