Supermarket price wars cause pump prices to drop but not for everyone – how to find cheapest prices
MAJOR supermarkets are engaging in a price war at the petrol pumps this week but it's not good news for everyone.
Drivers in most parts of the UK are missing out on benefiting from supermarket fuel price wars, according to new analysis.
The AA said retail giants engaged in competitive pump price cuts are primarily restricted to northern England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
But even in those areas, price reductions are only being seen in certain towns.
Supermarket petrol in Greater Manchester last weekend was as much as 13p per litre cheaper in Ashton-under-Lyne – where three superstores in close proximity went “head to head on fuel” – than 10 miles away in Rochdale, the AA said.
There are major differences in average fuel prices across the UK.
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In Northern Ireland, diesel was 10p per litre cheaper than in London and south-east England earlier this week.
In Wales, the price was 6p per litre below that in southern England.
AA fuel price spokesman Luke Bosdet said: “Discovering that supermarket petrol or diesel is £5 to £7 a tank more expensive than just 10 miles down the road is guaranteed to leave drivers livid.
“It just doesn’t make sense, particularly when other essentials like bread, milk and eggs are pretty much the same price wherever you go.
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“Say, for instance, a supermarket lures you into their store with a voucher offering £6 off a £60 shopping bill.
“To find out that that supermarket clawed back all that saving, and perhaps £1 on top of that, at the pump, compared to a superstore in a neighbouring town, will quite rightly lead to a howl of protest.
“The retailers only get away with it because the fuel price transparency that the Competition and Markets Authority recommended to the Government in October doesn’t yet exist, except in Northern Ireland.”
Average UK petrol prices continued to fall this week, reaching 148.6p a litre on Wednesday, while diesel was down to 170.7p.
Those are falls of 4.4p for petrol and 5.0p for diesel compared with just before Christmas.
The last time petrol cost less than 150p was on February 24 2022, when it averaged 149.67p a litre.
Since then, it rose to a record of 191.53p a litre on July 3 before dropping to 148.6p on Wednesday.
Diesel now averages 170.7p a litre, having been 153.05p when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began and then setting a record of 199.07p on July 1.
Do bear in mind that these are average prices and what you pay depends on the station you head to.
Unleaded and diesel prices are still up by at least 20p a litre compared to January last year.
It means the pressure is on for motorists to find cheap diesel and unleaded - but there are ways to find the best prices.
Make sure you always shop around to find the best deal near you as you could save yourself a few pounds.
Plus, it's worth looking out for supermarket deals as they can shave some extra cash off your bill.
Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons all offer customers deals to tempt them in.
How to check fuel prices near me?
The easiest way to find the cheapest forecourt in your area for fuel is by using price comparison sites.
Websites like Petrolprices.com will list the cheapest filling stations in your area.
You need to register with the site, enter your postcode and tell it how far you're willing to travel for fuel (up to 20 miles) and what fuel type you're after.
There are other websites you can use too.
Fleet News and Allstar also let you check petrol prices across the counties so you can see how your region compares to the UK average.
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Comparison website Confused.com has a petrol prices checker that lets registered users find petrol prices within a five, ten or 25-mile radius.
Petrolprices.com is useful, but it does only give you limited amounts of searches each day, whereas Confused.com doesn't.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]