Many of us may be left with mixed feelings over the fuel prices we saw in April, which saw a slight decline in prices from March. However, the good news is that with wholesale prices falling it looks like drivers will get a sustained period of cheaper fuels this summer!

Average prices in April stood at 118.3p for Unleaded and 120.1p Diesel, 1p lower than March and therefore continuing on the downwards trend since February. Historically back in April 2016, prices were 11p a litre lower at 107.2p & 106.8p a litre, interestingly this was one of the rare occasions in which Diesel prices were lower than Unleaded. This came about during the build up to the Brexit vote, but it was the cost of oil and indications supply would be controlled by OPEC that raised prices.

Going back further to five years ago, April 2012 saw the highest fuel price in recent history which was 142p for Unleaded and 147.6p Diesel. In April 2007 however, prices were much kinder to the wallets of motorists and stood at 92.8p for Unleaded & 95.1p for Diesel per litre.

 

 

 

Price war on the horizon?

News of an impending  “supermarket price war” will come as music to the ears of many motorists around the country. This week Morrison’s made the first move by slashing their prices, taking 2p per litre of both Unleaded and Diesel fuel. In reaction to this, both Sainsbury’s and Tesco cut their prices by the same amount on both fuel types.

Asda has kept true to its fuel price promise staying at 113.7p for Unleaded and 115.7p for Diesel. Justifying their stance a spokesperson for Asda said: “Asda consistently offers drivers the lowest fuel prices nationwide week in week out.” Although it may still seem unusual for Asda not to follow suit with the price cut it is worth noting that although other supermarkets have dropped their prices none are yet matching that of Asda which still offers the cheapest supermarket on the market, (if you exclude Costco of course).

 

The stats

Figures show that the price of crude oil per barrel dropped from $55 in mid-April to $49.41 by April 27th. In contrast, pump prices throughout April fell slightly with petrol and diesel averaging out at 118.3p and 120.1p a litre respectively, they should have fallen by 3p a litre which they seem to be now doing.

We have also searched through our data to find what the top 10 cheapest and top 10 most expensive towns by average fuel price for April, which you can see in the below tables for Unleaded and Diesel. There are no real surprises in the cheapest towns list, for example, Thurrock has had consistently low prices due to the level of competition there, Costco has a fuel station there so the local market is trying to compete with their presence. Similarly, the most expensive list is dominated by remote towns and some affluent locations, places to try and avoid if you can fill up elsewhere.

 

Top 10 cheapest towns (average pence per litre):

 

Town County Unleaded
OMAGH COUNTY TYRONE 1.132
TILBURY THURROCK 1.137
ALLOA CLACKMANNANSHIRE 1.137
WILLENHALL WEST MIDLANDS 1.137
PEMBROKE DOCK PEMBROKESHIRE 1.138
LIMAVADY COUNTY LONDONDERRY 1.139
PORT GLASGOW INVERCLYDE 1.139
ABERTILLERY BLAENAU GWENT 1.139
EAST DEREHAM NORFOLK 1.139
DUKINFIELD GREATER MANCHESTER 1.139

 

Town County Diesel
DROMORE COUNTY DOWN 1.147
TILBURY THURROCK 1.157
PEMBROKE DOCK PEMBROKESHIRE 1.158
PORT GLASGOW INVERCLYDE 1.159
ABERTILLERY BLAENAU GWENT 1.159
DUKINFIELD GREATER MANCHESTER 1.159
EAST DEREHAM NORFOLK 1.159
LEIGH GREATER MANCHESTER 1.160
PAR CORNWALL 1.163
PUDSEY WEST YORKSHIRE 1.163

 

Top 10 most expensive towns 

 

Town County Unleaded
TIGHNABRUAICH ARGYLL & BUTE 1.329
GRETNA DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY 1.305
ISLE OF ARRAN NORTH AYRSHIRE 1.289
MARKFIELD LEICESTERSHIRE 1.279
LOCKERBIE DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY 1.277
ISLE OF UNST SHETLAND ISLANDS 1.274
HENLEY-IN-ARDEN WARWICKSHIRE 1.269
TOTLAND BAY ISLE OF WIGHT 1.269
SHIPSTON-ON-STOUR WARWICKSHIRE 1.269
CARRBRIDGE HIGHLAND 1.269

 

Town County Diesel
ACHARACLE HIGHLAND 1.360
TIGHNABRUAICH ARGYLL & BUTE 1.359
ISLE OF BENBECULA EILEAN SIAR 1.339
MARKFIELD LEICESTERSHIRE 1.319
FRESHWATER ISLE OF WIGHT 1.319
WOOLACOMBE DEVON 1.299
ISLE OF ISLAY ARGYLL & BUTE 1.298
COWES ISLE OF WIGHT 1.289
DUNBLANE STIRLING 1.289
ISLE OF ARRAN NORTH AYRSHIRE 1.287

 

What can motorists do?

As ever there are a number of things motorists can do to take the money they spend on fuel into their own hands. It goes without saying that we always recommend using our service before you fill up.  In addition, a good rule of thumb is to always keep your eye on prices at weekends as they can sometimes increase as demand increase, especially around supermarkets. Airports, motorways, expensive cities as well as rural areas tend to be good area’s to swerve when filling up, you are likely to find the best prices in medium sized towns and areas with multiple stations clustered together.

Let us know in the comments section below what you thought of the fuel costs in your area for April and what you think the cost of fuel will go in the future?

 

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