Northern Ireland has become the first-ever region in the United Kingdom to charge an average of one pound per litre for diesel, according to the AA Motoring Trusts latest monthly Fuel Price Report. Scotland avoided this new record by a tenth of a penny.
Across the country, the average price of petrol from mid-July to mid-August rose 0.7 pence to 98.2 pence per litre. The average price of diesel in the UK rose 0.4 pence to 99.5 pence per litre.
Price reductions among supermarkets at the start of the week kept their average price of petrol at 96.7 pence per litre. This widened the gap between the average supermarket price and the overall UK average price to 1.5 pence per litre, up from 0.8 in mid-July.
Being the first region ever to average one pound a litre for diesel, Northern Irelands drivers will be even more angry to see diesel across the border averaging less than 80 pence per litre. In Scotland, although the price of petrol matches the UK average, the average cost of diesel rose 50 per cent faster than the rest of the country to become the second most expensive in the UK.
Across the regions, Wales continued to be the most expensive for petrol, the rise from 98.2 pence per litre to 99.0 this month being faster than the UK average. Petrol prices in the South West, which rose 25% faster than the UK average between mid-June and mid-July, settled back to a rise in line with the UK average.
This months Fuel Price Report comes just at the point that the supermarkets started a petrol price war, following a drop in the wholesale price of petrol. It shows the pinnacle of the pain felt by UK drivers, particularly with diesel, says Ruth Bridger, petrol price analyst for The AA Motoring Trust.
Although drivers living in built-up areas near supermarkets will enjoy price reductions of up to three or four pence a litre, worth more than 3 a month to a typical petrol car driver, those in rural areas will continue to endure higher prices for quite some time. We hope that the fall in the wholesale price of car fuel will work its way through to all pumps but, as the wholesale cost is a closely-guarded industry secret, few will know if the full reduction has been passed on to the consumer and business.
It is good to see that price rises in the South West have stepped back in line with the rest of the UK, which is better news for holidaymakers and the tourist industry. However, when higher petrol prices have come under close local scrutiny, petrol retailers have tended to rein back, as has been the case in the past with East Anglia and the Western Isles.
Average regional petrol prices (previous months in brackets):
Northern Ireland 98.6 ppl (97.8)
Scotland 98.2 ppl (97.3)
Wales 99.0 ppl (98.2)
North 98.3 ppl (97.5)
North West 97.9 ppl (96.9)
Yorkshire & Humberside 98.1 ppl (97.2)
West Midlands 98.2 ppl (97.5)
East Midlands 98.2 ppl (97.5)
East Anglia 98.4 ppl (97.8)
South East 98.1 ppl (97.6)
South West 98.5 ppl (98.1)
London 98.0 ppl (97.4)
UK AVERAGE 98.2 ppl (97.5)
Average regional diesel prices (previous months in brackets):
Northern Ireland 100.0 ppl (99.6)
Scotland 99.9 ppl (99.3)
Wales 99.7 ppl (99.4)
North 99.5 ppl (99.1)
North West 99.1 ppl (98.6)
Yorkshire & Humberside 99.2 ppl (98.7)
West Midlands 99.5 ppl (99.0)
East Midlands 99.5 ppl (99.0)
East Anglia 99.5 ppl (99.3)
South East 99.6 ppl (99.3)
South West 99.7 ppl (99.4)
London 99.5 ppl (99.1)
UK AVERAGE 99.5 ppl (99.1)
(Price data provided by Catalist Ltd and Arval)
