In UK petrol retail terms, 2017 will be seen by many as a good year for fuel price changes because increases stayed below the rate of inflation and meant the economy stayed in better shape from a consumer expenditure perspective.
But in geo-political terms there was a great deal of change, perhaps reflected in the price of crude oil over the year, which started at $56 a barrel in January, fell gradually to $44 a barrel in June and rose steadily returning to $56 a barrel in December and is now consistently above $60, the highest level since 2015.
Declines in the value of oil were driven by uncertainty about the global economy due to the incoming US President Donald Trump and what would happen with global oil production agreements laid out by OPEC and informal agreements between states outside of OPEC, such as Russia. UK fuel prices declined at the start of the year due to this, but increased in the second half of the year because oil production agreements were ratified, coupled with a series of small disasters that temporarily impacted oil and gas supplies into the UK market.
Fuel prices move in a narrow range
The cost of petrol and diesel in 2017 fluctuated by no more than 6.1 pence for Unleaded and 7.9 pence for Diesel. To put that into context fuel prices changed by 28.5 pence during the 2008 global financial crash and by 13.6 pence in 2016. What is interesting is that prices have changed in a big v shape over the year following the global price of crude oil per barrel, (see illustration).
The year started with figures at a relatively low level of 115.2 ppl Unleaded and 121.7 ppl Diesel in January and rose by 5 pence in February to 120.2 ppl. A lot of this driven by negative market sentiment and currency changes because of Donald Trump becoming US President. In March prices started to steadily decline until July where they reached their lowest point of 114.7 ppl Unleaded, 115.4 Diesel. From then on prices have been slowly creeping back up, ending at 120.8p Unleaded and 123.3p Diesel.
Manchester leads way in cheapest towns
If we look at the cheapest UK towns for fuel prices in 2017, Dunkinfield in North Manchester and Leigh in Greater Manchester lead the way followed by Tilbury, Spennymoor and Loanhead. There are a few surprises on there too, Penzance in Cornwall being the 4th cheapest for Unleaded in 2017 for example.
Cheapest areas for Unleaded in 2017
- 112.6 – Leigh, Greater Manchester
- 112.7 – Dukinfield, Greater Manchester
- 113.3 – Tilbury, Thurrock
- 113.3 – Penzance, Cornwall
- 113.4 – Loanhead, Midlothian
- 113.5 – Spennymoor, County Durham
- 113.5 – Cwmbran, Torfaen
- 113.6 – Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire
- 113.7 – Pudsey, West Yorkshire
- 113.7 – Port Glasgow, Inverclyde
Cheapest areas for Diesel in 2017
- 114.2 – Dukinfield, Greater Manchester
- 114.3 – Tilbury, Thurrock
- 114.5 – Leigh, Greater Manchester
- 114.8 – Spennymoor, County Durham
- 114.8 – Loanhead, Midlothian
- 115.0 – Tamworth, Staffordshire
- 115.2 – Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire
- 115.3 – Harworth, Nottinghamshire
- 115.5 – Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent
- 115.6 – Port Glasgow, Inverclyde
Scottish Highland towns remain most expensive
As usual the Scottish Highlands and UK islands dominate the most expensive towns for fuel in 2017. Tighnabruaich and Acharacle in Scotland for Unleaded and Diesel are followed by Freshwater on the Isle of Wight. Markfield in Leicestershire is one of the surprises, as well as Woolacombe in Devon.
Most expensive areas for Unleaded in 2017
- 133.7 – Acharacle, Highland
- 132.9 – Tighnabruaich, Argyll and Bute
- 129.9 – Freshwater, Isle of Wight
- 129.1 – Isle of Benbecula, Eilean Star
- 128.7 – Woolacombe, Devon
- 128.2 – Gretna, Dumfries & Galloway
- 127.8 – Lockerbie, Dumfries & Galloway
- 127.3 – Markfield, Leicestershire
- 127.0 – Isle of Arran, North Ayrshire
- 126.9 – Totland Bay, Isle of Wight
Most expensive areas for Diesel in 2017
- 135.3 – Tighnabruaich, Argyll & Bute
- 134.4 – Acharacle, Highland
- 131.7 – Freshwater, Isle of Wight
- 131.2 – Markfield, Leicestershire
- 131.1 – Isle of Benbecula, Eilean Star
- 129.9 – Woolacombe, Devon
- 129.4 – Totland Bay, Isle of Wight
- 128.1 – Isle of Islay, Argyll & Bute
- 127.9 – Cowes, Isle of Wight
- 127.6 – Gretna, Dumfries & Galloway
ASDA Tamworth and Newport cheapest stations in UK
In terms of cheapest stations overall in 2017 the supermarkets dominate the listings. ASDA Tamworth and Newport, Isle of Wight are the most consistently cheapest. Tamworth has the greatest number of low cost stations in the UK, but isn’t the cheapest town overall because it also has a small group of much higher priced stations in the same vicinity.
ASDA Newport, Isle of Wight is a real surprise when you can see that the island is consistently in the most expensive locations in the UK, but this perfectly illustrates the importance of price spread between cheapest and highest, perhaps felt more on the Isle of Wight than anywhere else in 2017.
Cheapest Unleaded stations on average in 2017
- 109.8 – Asda Tamworth, Tamworth
- 109.8 – Asda Newport, Isle of Wight
- 110.6 – Sainsburys Tamworth, Tamworth
- 110.9 – Morrisons Tamworth, Tamworth
- 111.0 – Asda Harwich, Harwich
- 111.2 – Asda Leigh, Leigh
- 111.6 – Avondale Service Station, Cwmbran
- 111.6 – Sainsburys Leigh, Leigh
- 111.7 – Morrisons Leigh, Leigh
- 111.7 – Asda York, York
- 111.8 – Asda Bridgwater, Bridgwater
- 111.9 – Morrisons Keighley, Keighley
- 112.0 – Asda Keighley, Keighley
- 112.0 – Sainsburys Keighley, Keighley
- 112.1 – Morrisons Bridgwater, Bridgwater
- 112.1 – Asda Bishop Auckland, Bishop Auckland
- 112.1 – Sainsburys Monks Cross, York
- 112.2 – Sainsburys Bridgwater, Bridgwater
- 112.2 – Asda Horwich, Bolton
- 112.3 – Tesco Atherton, Manchester
Cheapest Diesel stations on average in 2017
- 109.4 – Asda Newport, Isle of Wight
- 110.7 – Asda Tamworth, Tamworth
- 112.2 – Sainsburys Tamworth, Tamworth
- 111.5 – Morrisons Tamworth, Tamworth
- 112.9 – Asda York, York
- 112.9 – Asda Leigh, Leigh
- 113.1 – McColls Tamworth, Tamworth
- 113.2 – Sainsburys Leigh, Leigh
- 113.2 – Morrisons Leigh, Leigh
- 113.3 – Sainsburys Monks Cross, York
- 113.3 – Asda Bridgwater, Bridgwater
- 113.6 – Sainsburys Hankridge Farm, Taunton
- 113.6 – Morrisons Taunton, Taunton
- 113.6 – Asda Keighley, Keighley
- 113.6 – Asda Taunton, Taunton
- 113.7 – MPK Drayton Service Station, Tamworth
- 113.7 – Morrisons Keighley, Keighley
- 113.8 – Asda Minworth, Sutton Coldfield
- 113.8 – Asda Kettering, Kettering
- 113.8 – Morrisons, Kettering
London has most expensive stations in UK
Outside of motorway service stations, (which would dominate the top 20 if they were included), there are two petrol stations in London that actively compete against each other to be the most expensive in the UK. Chelsea Cloisters, Sloane Square has held the title of most expensive for many years until 2017. Less than a mile away, Holland Road Service Station have set a new record for fuel prices. Their average price in 2017 is an eye watering £1.75 a litre for Unleaded and Diesel, more than 25 pence a litre higher than Chelsea Cloisters, who were the previous most expensive station in the UK at £1.50 a litre. Not surprisingly apart from motorway services, the A1 (M1) had six of the most expensive stations on the list, followed by a few independent stations in the Scottish Highlands.
Predictions for fuel prices in 2018
Most experts predict that in the first half of 2018, fuel prices will increase slightly but will not rise beyond a certain point. A lot depends on US shale oil producers, how OPEC will respond to them and what happens to the global economy. Brexit can and will play a part if negotiations don’t go well, the value of Sterling will be impacted negatively against the dollar, so the price of fuel at UK pumps will rise as a result, but it could also go the opposite way, good trade talks and there is more confidence about the economy, Sterling’s value rises and fuel prices could fall.
The growth of electric and hybrid vehicles passed 3 million globally in 2017 and is expected to smash 5 million in 2018. What alternative energy does is make the markets question the value of oil for the long term and this could have a knock-on effect with current fuel prices and petrol retailers own plans. So too the impact of pollution, the demonisation of Diesel may continue to escalate leading to increases in duty on fuel for the first time in 8 years at the next Budget.
What do you think about the cost of fuel in 2017? Did you think it was too high or was it about right? Which way do you think fuel prices are going to go in 2018? Let us know in the comments below.
I think that the British government should be ashamed of themselves for ripping off the British people the way it does with fuel duty.
use cooking oil in your diesel car then. Up to 20% is OK
There’s plenty to knock this government about but they haven’t put fuel duty up once since they came to power in 2010.
Thats because it was very high in the first place….no need to up it if its SKY HIGH to start with….win..win…for the Government.
They have no shame nor ever will in this country because the British people are to idle to stand up to the governments in the country, not like the Froggies, French put their fuel prices up and the people block every road, a couple of days and the French government back down and lower the prices again.
Since fuel tax is not very much lower in France than the UK, all those road blocks and riots in France don’t seem to have achieved very much. One of the major reasons for the rising price of fuel in the UK is the plummeting value of the pound against the dollar since the vote to leave the EU. If you voted for Brexit, you only have yourself to blame Richard!
I think the British government should simply be ashamed of itself! Unfortunately, this government has no shame.
Obviously you have forgotten that it was the previous Labour government who were putting up fuel prices at very regular intervals. The present government has not put up prices
Ellie. They increased VAT. one of the cruelest taxes ever imposed on the people of this country . No government has any shame in outright theft stealing peoples money.
Apart from the rip off price of fuel duty…what about the fact that HMRC ALSO have the audacity to charge you VAT on the fuel duty, which is also a tax! talk about a double whammy & Mr tax man taking 2 bites of the cherry!
At least Dick Turpin wore a mask!
It is the taxman and him alone who is responsible for the obscene of fuel in this country
80% of the price is pure tax on which further tax in form of VAT is added.Compare this to the other oil producing countries where you could fill your car for less than a pound
It is actually 67%, not 80%, and while this is the highest rate in Europe, it is not so much more than other countries. It is over 60% in vast majority of other European countries. As for filling you car for a pound – since crude oil out of the ground costs £1.50 a gallon, filling your tank with it would cost quite a few quid – and good luck with running your car on Brent crude!
Yes George and I think it is actually illegal to have a tax on a tax. Also fuel stations are NOT allowed to show on the forecourt how much of the price is taken by tax
Petrol in my area in the South West bore little resemblance to the above article. It was often at 109.9 in 2017 and less in the county town supermarkets.
Ever since Petrol Prices started charging for their outdated and inaccurate price intelligence, it has become even more outdated and less accurate. So no, I won’t be switching off my ad blocker thank you very much. Now I know where to go to buy petrol at a good price I may stop using Petrol prices altogether.
I am lucky enough to live within a mile of an ASDA and tend to use one station exclusively, but it’s been interesting to see local comparisons – my area has a good spread of well-priced stations and sometimes one will stick its head above the parapet with a better offer. This website used to be useful for spotting such offers, but like you I now wonder about the timeliness of the data. For instance, I topped up my tank at the end of the year and paid 118.7p/L (diesel) at ASDA – the same as I’d paid a fortnight previously – but this website informed me the next day that I could have paid 117.7p/L at ASDA…. 4 days previously….
…and that brings me to my outstanding grievance: this website seems to exist to stir paranoia among users. In mid-December we were warned that fuel prices would increase by 3p/L by the end of the year. I rushed out to refill my tank that same day – earlier than strictly necessary – and paid 118.7p/L. Within two days the local price had reduced to 117.7p/L, thereby meaning that I had unnecessarily paid an extra 50p to fill up unnecessarily early based upon the warning from this website.
What’s more, the quoted price data is often useless to make comparisons while prices fluctuate simply because they will tell me the Sainsburys price on one date, the Morrisons price on another date and two different ASDA station prices from different dates (yes I even have a choice of ASDA stations). I even visited a different ASDA in mid-December based upon data from here that seemed to indicate that the other station tended to be 1p/L cheaper than my usual station… and what did I find? Exactly the same prices.
I agree, the website seems to like to scare monger, look back at the email just before the November budget, if you believed what they told us all diesel drivers were going to get crucified with massive tax increases, well nothing really happened.
Looking back at what I paid for refuels last year my lowest was 1.117 and highest was 1.199 per lt of diesel yet my town is not in the list?
£1.23-9 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.
They also censor posts if they are not politically correct, another reason to stop using this site.
Complete rubbish. We only remove posts if we think they are in any way offensive to someone based on race, sex or gender. Please check your facts.
I wondered why my comments never appear?
Hi Rwth Given the data comes from card transactions from the day before I find your statement is pretty wrong. The main issue is when a card transaction has not been taken from the site and so there are times when they do become outdated but never more than a few days before we automatically remove the price for the site. With regards to the feature I should explain that the price calculation by site was done by creating a modal average by site by month, summing it and dividing by 12 to create an annual average. In this sense you are right it’s not a true price but rather a price index.
prices go down in summer when the demand for gas oil used in home heating goes down.
Why is fuel so much more expensive in the south east? the cheapest unleaded in this are is 117.9p/litre.
It is a recognised fact that the government in the UK are using the motorist and road transport as cash cows to fund other areas of the economy. Until that system is revised and changed then the system will continue to place the burdens of the economy on the motorist. Therefore any hopes of a reduction in fuel costs will be short lived at best. They always have an excuse, now its the demonisation of diesel, next it will be the reduction in duty income as electric vehicles become more prevalent. Double taxation with tax and vat, as said previously British governments of either party have no shame as well as no knowledge of how to run a business, still if you ask a florist to be a butcher what else other than chaos should we expect. 2018, prices will inevitably creep up!!
well said Tony, UK governments are greedy in the extreme regarding fuel tax!!
2017 was 50 / 50 you will always get the rip of garage.
2018 it will rise with out a doubt. It would be better if the government put a cap on the maximum price of fuel to stop garages charging over what is an acceptable profit margin
Everybody is talking about the government. Who is the government? Isn’t it the people? Isn’t it you?
So do something. Show your gratification by voting for someone that will be for the people and help reduce the cost of life in the UK.
Don’t stay at home and swallow all of these politicians (from the right or left) rubbish.
I agree stop morning let get out of howe comfort sone and do some thing about it if not they will just keep takeing us for a ride
Trouble is they all sing the same song sheet.
The trouble is all parties are the same when it comes to the motorist,they just see a cash cow,with the taxes we pay for driving we should have the best maintained roads in europe but all we get are more & more potholes.
It is totally ludicrous prices when recently in Alicante the prices were about €1.10 which is about £1+
and stupid drivers will pay the high prices that is one reason they stay high in some petrol stations
Ridiculously high prices penalising consumers even when price of oil drops
RIP off Britain at its best………all powers of protest have been taken away…UKs public have gone from being people…to sheeple.
Petrol in Edinburgh where I stay is the lowest around only £1.07 a litre….it always been really good at Morrison’s store..can’t be better
Long may it last..
Which Morrisons do you use? I’m also in Edinburgh and almost exclusively get fuel at Straiton. Sainsbury’s getting competitive with Asda and then Costco opening and Sainsbury’s price matching has helped Loanhead get where it is on the list. The lack of other petrol stations there probably helps.
I have used the free service for years and find it useful, (THANK YOU).
But there IS a cost in producucing the information, it is not produced at no cost. So now I COULD contribute by paying for a more streamlined service, but i choose not to as the free one still meets my needs, I still find it useful.
It presents a snapshot, an average, but also tells me where to get the cheapest fuel if i choose to peruse that.
REALLY, used properly, IT’S A FREE, useful SERVICE: ….
what more could anyone want?
If it’s not useful to you please just stop using it and go away.
There is no need for insults or rudeness.
A totally vague statement: “fuel prices….will not rise above a certain point” – what’s a ‘certain point’?
The BP filling station in Penrith is the same price as Morrisons in Penrith, and BP don’t use bio diesel and Morrisons do, guess where i go?, Answers on a postcard please.
Drive safely.
Everyone uses the roads for driving on so everyone should pay for their use. Vehicle Road Tax brings in less than it used to as since the demise of the Tax Disc many more people don’t tax their cars, surprise surprise. Emission arguments are varied and is basically a farce. A low emission vehicle with low Road Tax can emit as much CO2 driving 10000 miles/year as a higher emission vehicle with higher Road Tax emits driving 5000 miles/year. Put a higher Tax on Fuel then everyone pays who use petrol or diesel and do away with the Road Tax, More income, less overheads.
Agree 100%
Because of the pound sterling, we buy oil in dollars when the pound is low it cost as well simple as that
In East Sussex, during 2017, petrol price was above 1.18 and hovering around 1.23
Now that the governments have realised that over taxing fuel leads to domestic economy being unpredictable and damaging to the well being of the nation. We can only hope that the business sense of the oil industry will also be careful in their changes so I think that 2018 will be in a slower change up and down than 2017 was. Fingers crossed
Felt that in 2017 prices kept creeping up (sometimes unnecessarily) they would act like they were doing you a favour by putting it down. Think they will play the same game in 2018. In other words the public will never get a good deal.
I live in Scarborough, North York’s where petrol is 121.9p when in York it is always between 5 and 7p a litre cheaper. This is shocking
Fuel is not expensive. it’s the amount of tax on it that makes it so costly. There is enough fuel tax already included in the price without adding yet another tax V.A.T. All governments are guilty of robin the people and giving next to nothing in return, want proof . just look at the condition of the highways /roads and count the potholes .
Diesel in Barnstaple North Devon are
119 per litre at Asda but in Wolverhampton they are 113 this is the
First in 3 years of me traveling up here there as been any differences and in price just means I fill up in Wolverhampton
The price for petrol on the M6 over Christmas was 137.09 ! Daylight robbery. They have you over a barrel.
They do not have you over a barrel. DONT BUY IT.
I live in Edinburgh and have consistently got petrol for around the 110p mark, sometimes slightly above, sometimes below, Sainsbury and Morrisons are almost always the cheapest. I personally don’t think that many people are not paying road tax since the disc was abolished as, so far as I know, all police cars have automatic recognition of number plates which identify if tax, insurance and MOT have been paid/done.
The reason for the obscene price of fuel is due to the amount of tax that government imposes on fuel.Out of every £10 spent on fuel ,£8 is tax, leave the oil companies, retailers, refineries and petrol pumps to share the remaining £2 !
Lets just think about the future…. if the UK Govt continues to demonise diesel especially then manufacturers will switch to electric. All well and good, however the charging infrastructure isn’t there yet and won’t be for some time. So, don’t be panicked into electric because once the country relies on electric our eggs are ultimately in one basket. Electric companies will be laughing as the energy from the national grid will be overloaded and then they have a monopoly on pricing unless the govt capps costs. In the meantime OPEC will be running scared of the use of normal petrol and diesel fuel production so they will reduce those costs per barrel to shore up their production and use…. perfect storm. So I will continue to use and buy an efficient diesel car safe in the knowledge of lower pump prices (unless the govt add massive duties – arseholes) I’ll get a govt incentive to change to electric in the meantime I will fill up my tank, get easy mileage, long distance between fills as opposed to charging up electrically – what a major faff and so time consuming even at home – on my personal electrical bill – no way hosey.
Bottom line? tell the UK Gov to go stick it – petrol and diesel are still by far so much better. In London and major cities? Yes make it electric or wear a mask! Everywhere else? Keep with what are the most efficient and convenient fuels – stick two fingers up to the Gov….. they have enough to worry about with Brexit!
Not a useful site anymore so pack up. I use ASDa who can be relied upon to be the cheapest AND nearest. I am not paying for useless information
Actually my nearest ASDA is 40+ miles away. So just think yourself lucky. No-one MAKES you use this site but it is useful to some of us
In my area I have my local town which has a Tesco and an independent. Both charge the same. They are dearer than Carlisle and Dumfries 16 miles either side. Asda in Carlisle is cheapest for whole area. Closely followed by Carlisle Morrisons. Dumfries is normally a couple of pence per litre dearer at all supermarket stations than Carlisle.
Independants are not as cheap as supermarkets. In fact some of them, ie, Gretna is bordering on daylight robbery !
All UK governments are voracious thieves regarding fuel tax and have stolen a fortune from UK motorists for decades now.
UK Governments=thieving ba5tards and cu9ts!!
I have got a Volvo V70 D5 SE LUX only 4 years old. The car has been serviced regularly and has only done 45000 miles. On my last MOT the technician at the garage told me everything was perfect, he particularly said that the emissions did not register anything on the testing equipment..
Why should I be penalised with an extra tax when my vehicle records no emissions.. My vehicle is cleaner than many petrol vehicles.
Hi John. I also have a Volvo V70 SE LUX, but mine is a T5 petrol. The strange thing is, the guy who runs the garage which services it, is a mate of mine, and he says that the air coming out of the exhaust, is cleaner than the air going into it. No joking, the readouts from the measuring equipment reads a whole lot of zeros. So, the excuse of the VED bands being based on pollution is just rubbish.Mind you I always fill her up with Shell V-power nitros.
I am also a Shell V-Power petrol user, it’s recommended by the manufacturer, Audi, and my Q3 does run better on it. No one has mentioned the price premium for V-Power which varies. Where I live it has crept up to 10p per litre but last week I filled up in Bradford where the normal unleaded was very cheap but the premium for V-Power was 14p! This up actually cost me more than it would have where I live in Cheshire.
I am not really qualified to comment. I remember my father buying National Benzole Mixture for his 1932 Austin 10 before WWII for 1/6d per gallon. When I started motoring in 1955 in my 1932 MGJ2 Esso Mixture was 2/3d per gallon. Luckily my income now is a lot higher than it was.
Having just read Rwth Hunts comment I don’t agree. Thanks to Petrol Priced on a recent trip to Devon I found that beyond Taunton most petrol was 116.9, confirmed when I carried on. In Taunton it was 109.9 at which price I filled up only about 1/4 mile from the M5. The frinds we were with took my advice and filled up there on the way home, still at 109.9
I find your information spot on for our area. Not surprisingly I find prices follow closely upward swings in crude prices – sometimes overtopping the percentage rise in crude prices – but are sticky on down swings. Why am I not surprised by this!
WHAT ABOUT LPG
Stourbridge has 3 petrol stations within 200 yards of each other. A couple of years ago they used to be the cheapest in the area. There seems to be a price fixing situation nowadays as they are all equally the dearest. Sainsbury’s (2 miles away) is about 5p/ltr cheaper for both fuels.
When more people take up driving the full electric car which you charge at home where you only pay 5% VAT for the electric “fuel” you use. Will the government come up with a plan to get the other “15% VAT” from us for vehicle fuel?