UK fuel market this week: supermarket gap at 3.9p a litre

The structure of UK pump pricing held its familiar shape this week. Official government price data puts the supermarket discount for unleaded at 3.9p a litre against the branded-forecourt average, with diesel showing a 5.0p gap. Averaged across a 55-litre fill, the choice of forecourt type alone is worth £2.15.

The national average for unleaded at branded forecourts has moved up by 3.7p a litre over the past week.

At the top of the price ladder sit the motorway services, where unleaded carries a 17.4p-a-litre premium over the ordinary branded average. The captive-audience premium is one of the most persistent features of the UK fuel market.

The postcode divide remains real. Across postcode districts with at least five forecourts reporting, OL6 is the cheapest for unleaded at an average of 149.9p a litre, while CA10 is the most expensive at 173.3p. That 23.4p spread is worth £12.87 on a 55-litre fill.

The cheapest supermarket unleaded recorded this week: COSTCO WHOLESALE, Leicester (LE4 8PH) at 144.9p; COSTCO WHOLESALE, Leeds (LS10 1BG) at 146.9p; TESCO, Belfast (BT8 6PZ) at 146.9p.

These figures come from the government fuel price feed, refreshed through the day for thousands of forecourts, and are tracked continuously by Promo as part of its fuel market record.

Disclaimer. All figures are computed directly from official UK government fuel price data (Open Government Licence v3.0), as published by fuel.co.uk, and were correct when this bulletin was prepared. Pump prices change through the day and may differ by the time you read this. Averages describe groups of forecourts, not every site within a group. This is general information, not financial or consumer advice.