21.10.08 Price cuts create biggest ever fuel price gap
The price war driving down the cost of fuel in the UK has created the biggest ever gap between the highest and lowest priced fuel, according to data from PetrolPrices.com.
The lowest priced unleaded, as a result of retailers slashing prices over the last week week, is 96.9p. However, the most expensive is 121.9p - a full 25p more. For diesel the spread is also 25p. The cheapest diesel is now 107.9p, and the most expensive 132.9p. A 'normal' price gap is around 17-19p.
Petrol stations have been slashing prices recently as a result of a dramatic fall in oil prices. Last week was the first time the price of unleaded dropped below £1 a litre since December 2007.
However, smaller stations are typically unable to respond to falling oil prices as quickly as big chains, meaning that there is a bigger difference in prices than ever before. The previous record price gap of 20p and 22p for unleaded and diesel respectively was last set on August 12th.
The price gap over short distances has also increased. One example from PetrolPrices.com shows a 15p difference in unleaded over just 5 miles in Northampton. In London, the gap is 20p over just 2 miles. There are similar examples across the country.
A motorist shopping at the most expensive station in London would spend an extra £528* a year on fuel compared to a smart motorist who found the cheapest station in the area using PetrolPrices.com.
It's not often drivers hear good news about petrol prices, but fuel for less than £1 a litre certainly is that. However, not all stations are able to cut their prices as quickly because they bought fuel at a higher price.
When prices are falling the cheapest stations change every day, so drivers should shop around online to avoid getting caught out.
Have you noticed the fuel price gap widening? What's the price difference in your area?
*Based on 55 litre car filling up 4 times a month.








Your Comments
Click here to add your comments
Received this text this morning:-
Apologies for any racism.
Gupta's wife died so he telephoned the local newspaper to place an obituary notice and on asking the cost was told that it was a £1 for 3 words
so he said "place the following":-
"Sangita is dead"
The editor said that a special offer this week entitled him to 3 words for free
so he thought for a moment and said "place the following":-
"Sangita is dead" "shop still open".
Called by for some topical debate and I find a "Ghost Town".
It seems all there is to be said has been said.
All this time to get nowhere.
Unless you've all gone to Sangita's funeral and you're having a p1$$ up.
Crude oil prices dropped below $35 per barrel in New York and lost more than $2 per barrel in London trade as investors worried that the recession will not only continue but deepen before it gets better.
Sentiment is that demand will continue to decline, while bad news on manufacturing in the New York region hurt prices, which have dropped 22 percent since the beginning of the year.
Poor results for the day on equities markets also pushed prices lower, as did new data showing that Japan's economy contracted by 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter and bad news on profits from discount retailer Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT).
March contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude was down $2.58 to $34.93 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for March delivery dropped $2.14 to $41.14 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.
Nymex March unleaded gasoline and April heating oil futures each dropped 8 cents during the session, to $1.13 per gallon and $1.22 per gallon respectively, while April natural gas was down 20 cents to $4.26 per million British thermal units.
The retail prices of gasoline in the United States fell 0.5 cent overnight to $1.96 per gallon on average, according to AAA.
Crude on a downward spiral, dollar shrinking against the pound, euro losing ground.
The cost at the pump rises.
Make sense to you?