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?
as to the prices ive just read they seem to be way out considering Morrisons (Enfield) Petrol is 112.9p per Litre,
Diesel is 113.9p per Litre, Tesco’s & Sainsbury (Enfield) are the same. Of course on top of this as with most supermarkets you get your points. As a point of interest, ive just had my 60th birthday (happy birthday peter, thankyou me lol) & as i’d never been abroad before my wife took me across the channel tunnel & onto Belgium to see the war graves. Ok so i done most of the driving, but we planned it so we got over there with an empty tank. when we filled our Mondeo estate up (13 Gal) it worked out we saved about £11. It was 119.9Euros (Fill up in Belgium, its cheaper than France, so are the fags & baccy!) We saw several stations varying up to 127.9Euros so keep your eyes open as over here & shop around.
We can see the price going down over here in GB on a steady trend with nothing to do with Brexit, thats just an excuse for a lot of price drops in stocks & shares & a price hike for goods, but the price drop for petrol & diesel will eventually start to steadily go back up again, why because its an easy way for the government to make money & the country has got to have fuel one way or another.
Even these lower prices are still way above what they should be relative to the global oil price. Pressure groups like Petrol Prices should be focussing on the retailers, who are ripping us off, rather than on government, etc. What we really need is an official regulator, like Ofcom, Ofgen, etc – no good relying on the CMA who will just do a whitewash.
Yesterday, 11 May, I came off Eurotunnel at Folkestone with insufficient petrol to get me home. I assumed the price at the PFS by the terminal would be expensive as it has a captive audience so I decided to stop at Maidstone Services although it meant coming off the M20. The price outside Eurotunnel was 121.9. On turning into Maidstone Services with an empty tank, I was gobsmacked to see their price was 129.9!
I bought the minimum to get me home and commented to the cashier that I had never paid so much for ages and enquired whether there had been a price increase whilst I had been out of the country. He almost laughed and said it had always been the most expensive petrol in the area. As I passed Clacket Lane Services on the M25, I noticed their price was 131.9. Rip off or what!
One of your recent correspondents (Mr Hogger) suggests that we need a body controlling fuel prices and after this experience, I heartily agree. Isn’t this something that you could pursue and create an action group?
I had a flying visit to Scotland at the weekend (12/05-13/05) and filling up at home near Worthing West Sussex where my local Diesel was 116.9p. Three-quarters of a tank got me to Stirling where I was helping my daughter move home for the summer from University. Knowing I would need more fuel for the trip home, I started to notice the price of Diesel on the motorway services. To my shock, I noticed it was about 21 pence a liter more than home! (136.9) I decided to fill up at the local Sainsbury’s in Stirling, at 113.7p. With the 50 liters I put in, that’s almost 11 quid difference between the town and the motorway services!
I know fuel on the motorway has always been a little more expensive than towns, but at 132+, surely this is taking the biscuit!!
as to the prices ive just read they seem to be way out considering Morrisons (Enfield) Petrol is 112.9p per Litre,
Diesel is 113.9p per Litre, Tesco’s & Sainsbury (Enfield) are the same. Of course on top of this as with most supermarkets you get your points. As a point of interest, ive just had my 60th birthday (happy birthday peter, thankyou me lol) & as i’d never been abroad before my wife took me across the channel tunnel & onto Belgium to see the war graves. Ok so i done most of the driving, but we planned it so we got over there with an empty tank. when we filled our Mondeo estate up (13 Gal) it worked out we saved about £11. It was 119.9Euros (Fill up in Belgium, its cheaper than France, so are the fags & baccy!) We saw several stations varying up to 127.9Euros so keep your eyes open as over here & shop around.
We can see the price going down over here in GB on a steady trend with nothing to do with Brexit, thats just an excuse for a lot of price drops in stocks & shares & a price hike for goods, but the price drop for petrol & diesel will eventually start to steadily go back up again, why because its an easy way for the government to make money & the country has got to have fuel one way or another.
Even these lower prices are still way above what they should be relative to the global oil price. Pressure groups like Petrol Prices should be focussing on the retailers, who are ripping us off, rather than on government, etc. What we really need is an official regulator, like Ofcom, Ofgen, etc – no good relying on the CMA who will just do a whitewash.
Yesterday, 11 May, I came off Eurotunnel at Folkestone with insufficient petrol to get me home. I assumed the price at the PFS by the terminal would be expensive as it has a captive audience so I decided to stop at Maidstone Services although it meant coming off the M20. The price outside Eurotunnel was 121.9. On turning into Maidstone Services with an empty tank, I was gobsmacked to see their price was 129.9!
I bought the minimum to get me home and commented to the cashier that I had never paid so much for ages and enquired whether there had been a price increase whilst I had been out of the country. He almost laughed and said it had always been the most expensive petrol in the area. As I passed Clacket Lane Services on the M25, I noticed their price was 131.9. Rip off or what!
One of your recent correspondents (Mr Hogger) suggests that we need a body controlling fuel prices and after this experience, I heartily agree. Isn’t this something that you could pursue and create an action group?
I had a flying visit to Scotland at the weekend (12/05-13/05) and filling up at home near Worthing West Sussex where my local Diesel was 116.9p. Three-quarters of a tank got me to Stirling where I was helping my daughter move home for the summer from University. Knowing I would need more fuel for the trip home, I started to notice the price of Diesel on the motorway services. To my shock, I noticed it was about 21 pence a liter more than home! (136.9) I decided to fill up at the local Sainsbury’s in Stirling, at 113.7p. With the 50 liters I put in, that’s almost 11 quid difference between the town and the motorway services!
I know fuel on the motorway has always been a little more expensive than towns, but at 132+, surely this is taking the biscuit!!