For those who drive a diesel automobile or van you’re paying extra to replenish than some other nation throughout Europe.
The UK now has the most costly diesel, regardless of the present 5p-a-litre gas responsibility low cost launched in March 2022 and prolonged for an additional 12 months within the Spring Finances.
The RAC, which in contrast our gas costs with these of our European neighbours, described it as a ‘very doubtful honour’, blaming retailers for pocketing exaggerated margins on each litre of diesel.
We reveal beneath how the UK ranks when it comes to petrol worth towards different European nations.
UK drivers with diesel-powered automobiles and vans are paying extra to replenish than some other nation in Europe, regardless of the 5p-a-litre gas responsibility minimize. The RAC blames retailers for greater than doubling margins on diesel to 18p – that is in comparison with the long-term pre-pandemic common of simply 8p
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The typical worth of diesel at UK pumps is at present 155p a litre.
This makes it 5p costlier than the following most costly nations – Eire and Belgium at 150p – primarily based on the newest European information obtainable and 21p pricier than the European common.
The RAC information excludes Norway and Switzerland thanks difficulties sourcing the data.
Even with taxation on each petrol and diesel minimize from 57.95p to 52.95p since spring 2022 – a transfer launched by then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak to ease the burden of quickly rising gas costs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – the UK nonetheless has the very best fee of responsibility on diesel in Europe alongside Italy.
But the typical worth of a litre of diesel in Italy – the place VAT on gas is 22 per cent – is at present 7p decrease than the UK, at a mean of 148p.
Diesel drivers in France – which fees the identical 20 per cent VAT on fuels as Britain, although the responsibility fee is round a penny decrease than the UK (52p) – are paying round 9p much less (146p) than motorists in UK.
In Belgium, the place responsibility is the equal of 2p lower than the UK at 51p and VAT is barely larger at 21 per cent, its diesel is 5p cheaper at 150p.
The evaluation by the RAC reveals that diesel motorists are being stung on the pumps far worse than their petrol-using counterparts.
Evaluating our common unleaded worth of 149p per litre towards the remainder of Europe locations UK eleventh on the checklist of most costly nations to replenish.
Staggeringly, Demark has the priciest petrol of all at a whopping common of 175p – although gas responsibility in Denmark is way larger than within the UK at an equal of 59p, with VAT at 25 per cent.
RAC gas spokesman Simon Williams stated Britain’s sting on drivers of diesel-powered automobiles is essentially right down to retailer margins – the distinction between the delivered wholesale worth and the retail worth earlier than VAT.
It estimates that retailers on common are pocketing round 18p on each litre of diesel offered.
That is a surprising 10p greater than the long-term common of 8p seen earlier than the pandemic.
‘Regardless of the RAC bringing the problem to the eye of Vitality Secretary Claire Coutinho in a letter simply over per week in the past, the worth of diesel on the pump has barely fallen, regardless that the wholesale costs of petrol and diesel are an identical at simply 111p a litre,’ Wiliams stated.
‘The typical worth of a litre of diesel ought to actually be right down to across the 145p degree if retailers have been charging fairer costs.
‘The margin on petrol can be, in our view, unreasonably excessive at 13p.
‘We are able to see no good motive why retailers in Britain aren’t slicing their costs on the pumps.’
Regardless of the dire information for diesel drivers, there’s some trigger for hope sooner or later.
The Digital Markets, Competitors and Shoppers Act grew to become regulation on Friday, giving new powers to the Competitors and Markets Authority to intently monitor highway gas costs and report any signal of malpractice to the Authorities.
