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I do not drive a diesel car I drive a petrol car but I feel never the less that the diesel situation is a JOKE!! The MASSIVE difference is because many many people(and company fleets) run a diesel car in this country and even though you get better MPG you are badly stung at the pump(91.9/diesel at my local esso and 87.9/unleaded) THAT IS A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE. I do feel sorry for people who drive diesel cars, although I am sure a certain Mr Brown
loves you!!**VOTE OUT LABOUR AT THE NEXT ELECTION**!!And also I wish to declare that the recent S*** about global warming and climate change is just that-S***, the earth is going through warm-cold-warm-cold peroid's,we are in a warm peroid NOW thats all!!I love to fly and drive and simply dont buy it one bit!!The alternative fuel industry is worth BILLONS thats why we 'NEED' to switch. Great website site petrolprice keep up the good work and long live the british motorist!!Paul Ponchaud

Our local Tesco have put all grades of fuel up 1p last night. Does this mean everyone will follow?

Paul Ponchaud, just because you don't want something to be true, doesn't mean it isn't.

OK Smart arses howcome this about the only country in the world that dirsel prices are higher than gas gussling petrol.
Remember one fact diesel takes a lot less refiening than petrol therefore uses a lott less carbon fuels = less polution and greenhouse gasses.

Most of europe pays far less for diesel at the pump because their govts believe this fuel to be less polluting than petrol. it also makes sense to keep the price of the fuel down as virtually all commercial haulage uses diesel.Why our govt cant see that i cannot fathom-i think they relish being entirly different to Europe for its own sake and bloody mindedness!!

In reply to #10, David Coxson,

"the government ,on the other hand, listen to the b******t given to them by every body but the people who put them in,think its a good idea,more money for them to give away to the people who least deserve it."
So those people with disabilities who struggle through life day by date "least deserve" government money? Why are you calling people with disabilities "b@stards"

Global warming is not a myth. I'd prefer to believe the top scientists than some nasty bigot.
Why are you keeping your head placed firmly in the sand when it comes to global warming? Is it because you're selfish and you would be reluctant to change your lifestyle for the benefit of humanity as a whole?

I'm afraid it's you and your ilk who voted Thatcher into power. Now you moan about the electric, oil and gas companies "soaking us". The precise reason they are "soaking us" is because they are private companies that exist to make a profit. When you take away the profit you'd see a reduction in prices, as a government entity designed to serve the people, not to make a profit.

You're one of only a few people I've ever come across who have slandered the most needy and vulnerable in society as "ba$tards".

Lets hope you never acquire a disability, because I'm sure you won't be needing extra help from the state in order to cope with the disabling symptoms of a heart attack or a brain tumour, etc.

Ciao!

Quote:- "The previous writer hasn't been listening to the news the last few day about global warming where all the experts from around the world agree it is a problem?"

Ok then, so when are we seeing the same high fuel prices in all of the other countries, as we see in the UK then?. Actions speak louder than words.

The twelfth of never thats when!.

And if the global warming is such an issue where is the huge tax relief for bio fuel producers, and the investment and massive rolling out of alternative fuels then??.

Diesel is more expensive because its also used as a fuel for firing power stations, and for heating homes. Thats why diesel is more expensive in the winter. Or hadn't you noticed?
Its supply and demand at its simplest.

You cant blame the (bloody awful Labour) Chancellor because the fuel duties just now are:
Ultra low sulphur petrol (ULSP) 48.35 pence per litre
Ultra low sulphur diesel (ULSD) 48.35 pence per litre

They've been at this level for a couple of years now, and incredibly we've slipped and become the second highest taxed nation on earth for fuel instead of the first and highest taxed nation. This is a key reason why this government is looking to change the way we pay to use our roads. by charging us independently of our fuel use, ie road tolls, and the orwellian pence per mile charges using satellites to track us, they can lower the fuel duty further still, but still take our hard earned cash!

anyway, i've answered the question and more...

I drive a small diesel car and i dont understand why it costs more at the pumps to buy diesel. I always thought that getting more mpg and that diesel engines having a lower co2 rate, would be a better choice and would help the environment better than petrol engines.

I'm convinced your right , MarkD it is simply because the sales of diesel cut down the sales of petrol so the Government ( probably of either colour ) will put up the cost to dissuade us from using it, If LPG becomes popular how long do you think before the duty gets raised to bring the price in line with the other fuels. Politicians have only one priority - Themselves staying or getting into power .

Incidentally, At present, if you apply and obtain an ASDA store card, and buy your petrol/Diesel with it, you get your petrol/Diesel 2p per litre cheaper. Fine, if you make sure you pay it all at once at the end of the month! Im using mine and getting Diesel for 84.9 ppl.

My Diesel runs fine on a 25/75% mix of veg oil/Diesel. Veg oil is only 35p per litre! The original engine designed/built by Rudolph Diesel ran on peanut oil!!!

I thought the reason for the increased retail price in diesel was due to the amount of tax the government charged over unleaded fuel.

Some yrs back diesel went up 2ppl, tax and unleaded was 1ppl

Can someone tell me if im wrong

Just been for a week to France. Diesel there is 99.9 euro = approx 70ppl, Petrol is 1.20 euro = approx 84ppl.

Surely the nub of the matter is that both petrol and diesel are overpriced. If there was a reasonable amount of tax on each it would not matter too much which was the most expensive. I have lived through about a dozen different governments and I have always believed that the general mass of people have been neither better off or worse off than a couple of pounds per week. They tended to give with one hand (say married couples allowance - now defunct) and take with the other (dare I say petrol tax) This has now changed with this government. All Gordon Brown thinks about is TAX TAX TAX oh and little foxy woxy. This is without doubt the worse government in history and the poor sods that follow them will have a lot of clearing up to do.

Can anyone please tell me why we should be at the mercy of these oil producing countries and why we should pay such a high tax on fuel?
Why is there not more being done to produce fuel from for example rape seed? or sugar (as they do somewhere in South America) using sugar incidentally for fuel might reduce the amount of sugar put into foodstuffs which would ultimately improve the nation's fitness

IN REPLY TO 30:
Quote *So, one barrel of diesel could potentially make two barrels of petrol*

25 Gallons is 25 Gallons so the only way you can compare is the weight and not the amount!

This comment has been removed as it was found to be in breach of our Blog Policies.

Welcome to rip off Britian.

If ever there was proof that the oil industry is out to fleece the consumer for every penny, just look at the price of LPG. this product, at the moment is the only freely available envioromentaly friendly fuel thats easy to use and distribute. Owneres go to all the trouble to convert thier vehicle to run on this product, and what happens the OIL COMPANIES not the Goverment rips them off. WE HAVE the LOWEST duty rates on LPG in Europe only 6.5 pence per litre, but guess what we have the most expensive LPG, no suprise there then...but can anyone explain why they don't do this abroad???

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I couldn't agree more, Diamond-g ,I wonder if all the people who believe the "experts" ,know that 30 years ago these so called experts were telling us that a new mini ice age was comming.

As this is the only fuel price story in the menu I shall place this comment here now. Though few will read it, many ought to be considering this issue just now:

Why, oh why are fuel retailers raising prices now?
The small tax increase from the Budget is already discounted (or counted in).
The wholesale oil price is steady at around $62 or $63 a barrel.
The pound sterling is way up at $2.01 to the Pound - which makes the price of oil signifcantly CHEAPER to UK-based divisions of the oil companies.

So why isn't the pump price of petrol just now in the low 80s pence per litre, or even lower?

Or are the oil companies, wholesalers and retailers right now just increasing their margin per litre on sales?

Having moved over to diesel four years ago i will never go back to driving petrol because the petrol engine is far more complicated and inefficient compared to diesel.
Everything on a diesel car lasts so much longer,the exhaust system especially can last up to well over 100,000 miles because the system never generates the kind of heat a petrol engine does.

Diesel is a lubricant which means every time you start your engine the diesel oil or fuel lubricates the cylinders,petrol on the other hand is a solvent and everytime you start a petrol engine the engine is experiencing far more wear than its diesel cousin.

With a diesel engine you have no spark plugs,ignition leads or much elecrical cabling that a petrol engine has.The days when you had dirty petrol fouling your spark plugs and leading to misfiring and goodness knows what else are a thing of the past.

The big benefit of diesel over petrol is economy.I drive a Citroen 1.4 Hdi and i can easily obtain 70+ mpg.There is no petrol driven vehicle that will approach this kind of economy.

At present the Toyota Aygo,Pegeot 107 and Citroen C1 petrol engines are the most fuel efficient petrol vehicles and yet their best economy figures are around 64mpg,not bad but hardly brilliant when the diesel equifflent of all three cars will exceed 80mpg and this has been verified under tests in vorious car magazines.

If you have never driven a diesel car like myself four years ago you willnot realise how differently they drive to a petrol vehicle.
All the power is low down usually under 3000rpm and is more driver frienndly around town where most driving is done.

A diesel car may cost more to purchase but they retain a great deal more of their value on the secondhand market all because of their desirability for longlevity and reliabillaty.Since diesel works at much higher compression rates than petrol engines everything is more robust and built to withstand the extra strains of daily use.

If you can forget the small difference in fuel price,2p in my local garage then when you become a diesel convert you usually remain a convert and realise how tempremental petrol engines are especially in hot weather.

The fact that diesel is usually cheaper on the continent is because it is far less harmfull to the environment than petrol.Compare the CO2 of petrol vehicles to diesel ones.
Also over the past three years diesel cars are taking a greater share of the new car market because people are realising the benefits of the diesel engine.

Look at every mode of transport from Buses,Trains,Taxis,Large Haulage Lorries ,massive container ships and possibly everything else connected to haulage,they are all Diesel operated,petrol is just too inefficient to cope in business terms.

Some of the massive Haulage ships have engines that are nearly 70% efficient ie 70% of every gallon of diesel is used to power the ship forward.

The average diesel powered car is 55% efficient compared to the 30-40% efficiency of petrol.That means for every gallon of petrol you pour into your car atleast half of it is going to waste and is not used in the combustion process.

Currently the mot fuel efficient car in the world is the Volkswagen Lupo 3L 1.2Tdi which achived an amazind 116mpg on its round Britain fuel efficiency run in 2005.It also holds the record of travelling around the world averaging constantly more than 100mpg.
No matter what people say a petrol car would never achieve that level of economy because the petrol engine is so inefficient in comparisson.

Gordon Brown taxes diesel so heavily because all his revenue from transport vehicles which is massive comes from diesel fuel.
If we all suddenly turned to driving petrol vehicles then the cost of diesel would fall because there was less demand for it.
The more demand there is for a product the more we will be charged by the Government to use it.

Quote " Posted by Lance Skinner I wonder what fuel the dinosaurs used to power their transport that caused global cooling and warming of that era?"

Quote "Posted by Diamond-geezers **** Dont Belive the HYPE! ****
Global warming is bull, its all a ploy for the government to tax us on every green issue going, to restrict our movement and make billions in the process, not that i dont agree with being more environmentally friendly.

Paul hit the nail on the head, the earth goes through phases of warm and cold periods over thousands of years, wake up and don't buy the Global warming spin!"

The above posts say it all. "Global warming is bull", I watched a programme by some TOP Scientists, it was called "The Great Global Warming Scandal" in the programme they said it was all a myth and the earth has been heating and cooling like this for 1000's of years. As Diamond-geezers say it is just a ploy for the government to rip us off with TAX, TAX, TAX and more.

I drive a diesel car and because it is far less harmful to the environment than petrol so I pay less road tax, it has just gone down to £35 as has been said you get more miles to the gal my car gets around 64 MPG. I noticed today the cost of diesel in my town has gone up to 95.9/ltr I am going to Liverpool tomorrow and have found a service station selling diesel for 89.9/ltr so I will be filling my tank. All this saving thanks to Petrol Prices.Com.

Bob W

Diesel is barely more expensive than petrol at the moment. It should cost more because it is more energy and carbon dense than petrol. The price per litre should purely be based on the energy per litre. Even then burning 1litre of petrol produces less co2 than 1 litre of diesel. I don't even view petrol as oil, its more of a solvent waste product. Don't buy it and it goes down the drain anyway - worthless. I'm on the verge of buying a £300 diesel and running it on veg oil.

Hi Iain,

The max approved rate is 40p/mile, up to 10,000 miles per tax year. Thereafter 25p/mile above 10,000 miles per tax year.

The website "HM Revenue and Customs" gives you all the information.

If your employer, pays less than 40p/mile. The difference is claimed using "Mileage Allowance Relief". There is no lower limit.

This will bring it back to 40p/mile or £4000 per year "Tax Free" for the first 10,000 miles. Different companies do it, different ways, depending on the actual mileage, rather than the "expected" mileage.

As of yesterday evening (friday) it seems that in the East Midlands petrol costs the same as diesel. What a rip-off not only is burning a litre of petrol always going to be cleaner than burning a litre of diesel, it will release less co2. It has LESS ENERGY in it per litre so we ARE BEING RIPPED OFF by the oil companies who think they can getting away with overpricing an inferior good.
The government should realise that petrol is more eco-friendly than diesel and maintain the gap by cutting petrol duty.
Diesel has over 10% more energy per litre so if diesel costs 95p/litre then petrol should cost 87p/litre.
I WILL NOT BUY FROM ANY GARAGE CHARGING THE SAME FOR BOTH IF I CAN AVOID IT - OTHER PETROL OWNERS JOIN ME IN THIS. Especially tesco who sell dodgy petrol that either lacks additives or are flooded in them (silicone incident) and charge the same as elsewhere.

The reason for the shrinking gap, between the retail price of Petrol and Diesel is quite simple. European Refineries produce more Diesel from a Bbl of Crude Oil than Petrol, and have done for a number of years.

Their American counterparts, produce more Petrol from a Bbl of Crude Oil, than Diesel. American's don't have much time for Diesel Fuelled cars.

Over the past weeks, the demand for Petrol has jumped worldwide. On the Products Market for NW/Europe, Petrol closed at 29.02p/litre, Diesel closed at 26.58p/litre Friday 11th May.

Both prices at the pumps are moving upward, just that petrol is moving the faster of the two. European refineries cannot keep up with "Demand" for Petrol, this creates a "shortage", this in turn creates high prices for the product.

In the USA, where Diesel is normally priced higher than Petrol, a gallon of Diesel is actually 25 cts/Gal cheaper than Petrol. Again, this is refineries not keeping up with demand for the product.

The annual surge in Petrol consumption, during the summer driving season, has begun a little earlier this year. Mainly, because carmakers are flooding the "new" markets with their products.

While this situation remains, the price of both fuels will climb, regardless of the price of Crude Oil. Pump Prices, are being controlled by the Products Market at the moment. Welcome to the world of Global Markets, and their ilk.

The Retail price of Petrol is just shy, of what it was a year ago. The Retail price of Diesel is 2p/litre cheaper, than a year ago.

The price of Crude Oil has started to move upward. On the Products Market Petrol and Diesel, continue their climb. It doesn't look good for motorist's.

The only way to bring prices down, is to curtail the use of cars. This can be difficult for many people, but as our favourite Supermarket claims " Every little helps".

As of Monday 14th May, the avg pump price for Reg(95r) across the UK, was 95.84p/litre. Diesel stood at 96.79p/litre.

Crude Oil (NW/Europe) closed at $66.03/Bbl (up). The exchange rate was 1.9805 (down) for that days business.

On the Products Market, Raw Petrol closed at 29.20p/litre. Diesel closed at 26.28p/litre. This is before the inclusion of additives or delivery to stations.

The tax burden, carried by both fuels is the highest in the world. Oil companies do not set tax levels, Governments do.

At the moment, minus all taxes. Petrol is cheaper in the UK, than the USA.

Fuel Duty on both Petrol, and Diesel is set to rise by 2p/litre plus Vat, on October 1st 2007. Then, by the same amount on April 1st 2008, in other words twice in six months.

Now add, the proposed "Road Charges" pilot schemes in certain area's, due for rollout in 2008. The "Freedom of the Road" is turning into an expensive "sentence", based on enviromental concerns.

Most people's "disposable" income is shrinking, faster than they can earn it. Due mainly, to increased taxes, and charges they are required to pay. Coupled with, the increasing number of ban's being put in place. At some point the general public, may say "enough is enough".

Ultra Low Sulphur Petrol, and Ultra Low Sulpher Diesel, along with Sulphur Free Petrol and Sulphur Free Diesel are all taxed at the same rate . 48.35p/litre Fuel Duty plus Vat. Most car's use this fuel n the UK.

"Conventional Diesel" at 2000ppm/Sulphur and above, carries a Fuel Duty of 54.68p/litre plus Vat. This is mostly used by commercial ventures, not car's.

Most private car's are still petrol driven, the demand for petrol worldwide, far exceeds the demand for diesel worldwide. This accounts for Petrol's rapid price rise, compared to Diesel. Both fuels are on the rise, but the price gap has virtually disappeared.

European refineries produce more Diesel than Petrol, thus when Petrol Demand is high, so are the prices. This situation may not last too long, after the "summer driving season" ends.

I have been a diesel car owner for nearly two years, and finally the cost between unleaded and diesel has levelled off. I have paid up to 7 pence per litre difference, when achieving 65mpg on normal driving, comparing to mid 40s mpg for an efficient petrol engined car. Why should I pay 7ppl more when I'm using so much less fuel?

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This comment has been removed as it was found to be in breach of our Blog Policies.

Just my luck that when I finally get a diesel car (Mondeo), the price has gone up higher than petrol!! But I still find it more economical - 40 - 50 mpg average, not bad?

The price of fuel in south wales has gone silly why is it that petrol is now more expensive than diesel??

Can anyone tell me??