Fuel prices vary by 11p a litre across UK forecourts
By Anthony Sharkey, Chief Operating Officer, New Reg Limited
Drivers filling a 50-litre tank could pay around £6 more depending on which forecourt they choose, official UK fuel price data shows.
Drivers in the UK can save roughly £6 on a full tank of petrol simply by choosing a cheaper forecourt over a dearer one, according to official UK fuel price data covering 7,845 sites across the country.
The average price of E10 unleaded currently sits at 161.7p a litre, but that figure masks a considerable spread. The least expensive forecourts are charging around 155.9p a litre, while the most expensive are closer to 166.9p, a gap of approximately 11p a litre. On a standard 50-litre fill, that difference works out at about £6 in real money.
For diesel drivers the picture is different in scale but the same in principle. Official UK fuel price data puts the national average for diesel at 183.4p a litre, and similar variation between forecourts is likely to apply there too, meaning the saving from shopping around could be equally significant.
The 11p-a-litre gap matters most to drivers who fill up frequently or who cover high mileages, because those small per-litre differences compound quickly over months of motoring. A driver who fills up once a week and consistently chooses a cheaper site could save well over £300 over the course of a year compared with someone who always uses the most expensive forecourt in their area.
Because fuel prices change daily and vary by region, the cheapest option near one driver may not apply to another. Official UK fuel price data is updated regularly and covers forecourts across the country, giving drivers the clearest available picture of what they should expect to pay before they pull in.