21.10.08 Price cuts create biggest ever fuel price gap
Have you noticed the fuel price gap widening in your area?
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
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Its all very interesting hearing what price varios stations are charging up & down the country. The point that everyone seems to have missed is that all supermarkets are interested in is making money. They will only reduce the price of fuel if they think it is in theyre interests to do so!
This could be a local price war, or a lever to get more people into theyre stores. The best way to keep prices as low as possible is to vote with your feet (wheels) and encourage every driver to only buy from the cheapest stations in there area.
Interestingly the supermarkets are often not the cheapest, but many people like sheep blindly head for their local Tescos in the misguided beleif that the fuel, bread, and beer is bound to be cheaper than their local shops. "stack em high"
Why this price gap between diesel and petrol getting bigger per litre?
29th October 2008
Falling oil production in coming years is greater risk to the UK than from the threat posed by terrorism, according to a new report from an industry taskforce.
The report from the Peak Oil group warned that the problem of declining availability of oil will hit the UK earlier than generally expected - possibly within the next five years - as producer countries start to scale down the pumping of dwindling supplies.
But Peak Oil chairman Jeremy Leggett, who is also the executive chairman of alternative energy company Solarcentury, said Wednesday it was not too late for politicians to make the decisions to protect the UK from the impact of reduced oil availability.
"Society has become oil-dependent to its rivets. What we are warning of is a peak in production beyond which will be a fall, potentially a rapid fall, and that will mean a global energy crisis if the analysis is correct," Leggett said.
The report comes as Britain is becoming more reliant on important energy sources as oil and gas supplies from the UK sector of the North Sea have been dwindling for the past six years.
Some analysts have also suggested that global oil production has already peaked.
The chairman of Peak Oil argued that the oil industry and oil institutions have been "irrationally exuberant about their ability to meet demand going forward, in much the same way that the financial institutions."
"When they fail to meet demand, many countries will experience this as an energy crisis. Some will experience it as an energy famine, as producers start to withhold exports," he warned.
"What we are saying is let's get this right. This crisis is being anticipated. Let's do something about it, because we can," Leggett said in an interview with BBC Radio Four's flagship current affairs programme, Today.