Drivers in Northern Ireland are getting better deals at the pump than drivers in the rest of the UK, according to the latest fuel price review.
And that price gap widened in February.
On average, car owners in Northern Ireland pay 5.6p less for a liter of petrol, and diesel is around 4.6p cheaper than in England, Scotland and Wales.
The RAC described it as “particularly galling” for motorists in Britain as it reported that February saw the biggest jump in fuel prices for five months, with petrol rising by 4p a liter and diesel by almost 5p. .
A combination of oil rising above $80 and the pound being worth just $1.26 (with oil traded in dollars) drove up wholesale costs for UK fuel retailers, costs that have quickly shifted drivers to higher prices at the pump.
The news comes ahead of Wednesday’s spring budget statement, in which Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to provide some relief to the country’s motorists by freezing fuel duty for the 14th year in a row and maintaining the “temporary” tax cut. 5 pence per liter on petrol and diesel. which was introduced in 2022 to neutralize the increase in fuel prices.
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The RAC’s monthly Fuel Watch report said petrol rose from 140.75p at the start of February to 144.76p at the close, adding more than £2 to the price of a full tank (£77.41 to £79.62 ).
Diesel rose from 148.53p to 153.22p (4.7p), increasing the cost of filling up an average 55-litre family car from £2.60 to £84.27.
It is the largest monthly increase for both fuels since September, although it is still slightly below the all-time high for both fuels.
In summer 2022, the cost of a liter of unleaded petrol hit a high of 191.43p in July, while diesel hit a record high of 199.07p.
So why do Northern Ireland drivers get better deals on fuel?
The RAC identified widening regional fuel prices, especially when comparing Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK.
Price data shows that drivers in Northern Ireland pay – on average – 5.6 pence per liter less for petrol than the rest of the country, while diesel is 4.6 pence cheaper.
This means that every time a driver in Northern Ireland fills up the petrol tank of their family car (with a 55 liter tank), they pay £3.20 less than drivers across the Irish Sea.
For those with diesel cars, the price difference in favor of drivers in Northern Ireland is £2.53 per fill-up.
Drivers in Northern Ireland pay around 5.6p less per liter for petrol than the rest of the UK. The RAC explains why
Simon Williams, RAC fuel pricing spokesman, told This is Money: ‘We estimate that retailers in Northern Ireland are working with a margin of 6p per liter for both petrol and diesel.
“The average retail margin for the rest of the UK is around 10p, which explains some of the big difference in pump prices.”
The motoring organization believes operators are being left with smaller margins across the Irish Sea because competition is much fiercer there.
“Northern Ireland has more retailers per head of population than the rest of the UK, and supermarkets are less dominant,” explains Williams.
“You also have to take into account the presence of the Republic of Ireland, which can sometimes be a little cheaper and will then force prices down across the border.”
The RAC says fuel has historically been cheaper in Northern Ireland for some time, but maintains there is no reason why lower prices couldn’t be replicated in the rest of the UK.
‘Having analyzed data from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), we can see that supermarkets offer their lowest prices in Northern Ireland most of the time, so they are able to make lower margins than they do in average throughout the country. the United Kingdom,” Williams added.
As can be seen from this table, the average price of petrol in Northern Ireland is 136.06p, while in the south-east of England drivers pay 141.90p for unleaded petrol.
Motorists in Northern Ireland are paying an average of 4.6 pence less per liter for diesel than the rest of the UK, the RAC report highlights. The difference is because NI traders pocket smaller operating margins.
Are supermarkets playing fair with drivers? There is an 18p a liter difference between Asda’s cheapest and most expensive petrol station
The motoring group says motorists across the UK continue to get the best deal by filling up at petrol stations run by the big four supermarket chains.
Unleaded is just under 2p (1.8p) cheaper when bought at a supermarket filling station (143p vs 144.76p), although diesel is just a penny cheaper ( 152.1 pv vs. 153.22 pence).
It also highlights that there is a difference of 18p per liter between supermarket stations selling lower-priced and higher-priced unleaded petrol, both Asda sites.
The lowest price was 136.7p at its sites in Middleton, Leeds and Ballyclare, north of Belfast in Northern Ireland, and the most expensive was 163.9p at Parkgate Road in Chester.
For diesel, the difference between the cheapest and most expensive supermarket stations is greater: 21p.
Tesco offered drivers the lowest price at 142.9p in Banbridge in Northern Ireland and Asda the most expensive at 163.9p, also on Parkgate Road in Chester.
Williams said: ‘Our data shows that in February, drivers suffered the largest average monthly fuel price increases since September 2023.
“What’s more, the 4.7p increase in diesel was the 14th largest since 2000 and the 4p increase in petrol was the 17th largest increase since the turn of the century.”
PETROL: Supermarkets may be the cheapest place to fill up on average, but the price difference at service stations operated by the same retailer can differ by up to 18.2p for unleaded fuel, in the case of Asda.
DIESEL: Asda also has the biggest price difference between its most expensive and least expensive service stations. The difference in the postal code lottery is, like gasoline, 18.2 liters per year.
The RAC fuel expert added: “Supermarkets in particular have noticeably increased their margins to 8p per liter compared to 6p in 2019. Luckily for drivers, this is down from the last two years when They were around 9.5 pence.
“We hope that the eventual creation of the watchdog recommended by the Competition and Markets Authority will help put an end to this postcode lottery that treats drivers so unfairly.”
Drivers across the country will welcome the Chancellor’s announcement in tomorrow’s Budget on fuel cost taxation.
Jeremy Hunt is expected to freeze fuel duty for the 14th year in a row and will extend the ‘temporary’ 5p cut in fuel duty for another year as he seeks to calm Tory nerves over dire television ratings. opinion polls.
This is estimated to save drivers £5 billion combined over the next 12 months..
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