14p difference between supermarket fuel prices revealed

Richard Aucock, Contributor
Tue, 06 Feb 2024

There is currently a staggering 14p a litre difference between the cheapest and most expensive fuel prices at UK supermarket filling stations, new research by RAC Fuel Watch has revealed.

The cheapest litre of unleaded petrol in January 2024 was sold by Sainsbury’s in Oxford and Newport, for 131.9p a litre.

In contrast, the most expensive was sold by Morrisons in Exeter and Ipswich – for 145.9p a litre.

Overall, the average difference between different supermarkets’ fuel prices was 12p. Tesco had the smallest gap of 8p between its low of 138.2p a litre and high of 142.9p.

Costco remains the one to watch, with unleaded prices averaging just 130p a litre, and diesel averaging 139p.

The big four supermarkets of Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco currently dominate fuel retailing across the UK.

RAC Fuel Watch data has also shown that three months of falling fuel prices came to an end in January 2024.

The average price of petrol across all UK filling stations remains at 140.5p a litre. Diesel prices average 148.5p a litre.

Surprisingly, fuel remains up to 4p a litre cheaper in Northern Ireland. Petrol averages 136.2p a litre and diesel averages 144.9p.

"It is still concerning to see that fuel remains considerably cheaper in Northern Ireland and that the supermarkets are charging wildly different prices for identical petrol and diesel at different locations around the UK," says RAC Fuel Watch spokesperson Simon Williams.

"It seems blatantly wrong to us that the very same petrol or diesel can vary in price by as much as 14p a litre, depending on where drivers are filling up."

Williams added that recent rises in the price of a barrel of oil have actually had the effect of squeezing supermarkets "bloated" margins by around 3p a litre.

"The big question is whether they will be content to operate at this level or whether they will look to get back to an average margin of around 10p, which is in stark contrast to the 3.5p they made on a litre in 2019," he adds.

Ask HJ

Why is BP fuel so expensive?

My local BP garage is still charging £1.55 per litre for their cheapest diesel, much more than any prices mentioned in the article (although in November 2023 it was 10p more at £1.65). Why would BP be charging so much, 10p more than Sainsbury's even, according the internet, this can't be fair? The BP garage also runs an M&S outlet on the premises.

Generally speaking, supermarkets tend to offer the cheapest fuel, while independent fuel stations and branded forecourts such as Shell and BP tend to charge the most. However, there are always anomalies and significant regional variations, with some large cities and very rural areas charging more than urban areas.

Answered by David Ross

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