Petrol up 6p a litre already in 2024 – and Asda is no longer the cheapest place to fill up

Motorists noticed the value of filling up with petrol enhance but once more final month regardless of the Chancellor’s announcement in March that gas responsibility will stay frozen for a 14th 12 months and a 5p-a-litre lower has been prolonged for an additional 12 months.

Official knowledge reveals that the typical worth of a litre of unleaded rose 1.86p to 146.48.

It means petrol is already round 6p a litre costlier now that it was on the finish of December.

And the nationwide assessment of forecourts reveals Asda – which has for years supplied the bottom costs – is now not the most affordable place to refuel…

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The RAC Gasoline Watch report for March reveals that diesel additionally rose final month by greater than a penny from 154.68p to 155.99p (1.31p). 

This confirms three consecutive months of rises for each gas sorts in a further blow to driver’s funds because the cost-of-living squeeze drags into 2024. 

Petrol is now 5.9p pricier than it was on 31 December 2023 (140.58p) and diesel is 6.81p costlier (149.18p).

When brimming the 55-litre tank of a mean household automobile, every go to to forecourts is costing drivers an additional £3.25 and £3.76 in 2024 than it was final 12 months for the respective fuels. 

What’s pushing UK gas costs greater? 

Whereas the rise in forecourt costs was pushed by a 5 per cent rise in the price of a barrel of oil (from $83.55 to $87.48) in March, a surge in demand for petrol within the US forward of the summer time triggered the wholesale worth of unleaded to rise to match that of diesel. 

This enhance in wholesale costs has squeezed the typical retailer revenue margin on every litre of petrol, which has fallen from 10.5p at the beginning of March to 8p by the shut of the month.

Nevertheless, the RAC stated it believes this may be because of the Competitors and Markets Authority (CMA) elevating considerations about greater retailer margins final week.

Figures held by the CMA present that even the decrease margins for petrol by the top of March are greater than double what retailers have been pocketing again in 2017.

The common margin on diesel is 11p, up by a penny in March. 

RAC gas spokesman Simon Williams stated: ‘The rising value of oil, mixed with the pound nonetheless solely being value a meagre $1.3, has led to a different month of distress on the pumps with the value of petrol going up 2p a litre.’ 

Asda now not the most affordable place to refill. The place is? 

Supermarkets sometimes provide the least costly gas costs throughout the nation. 

And for years it has been Asda forecourts which have led the best way, both by being the primary to chop their costs or to shave an additional penny on the competitors.

However that is now not the case.

As an alternative, it’s rival Tesco that had the most affordable unleaded on 31 March at a mean of 142.7p throughout its 511 forecourts.

In distinction to conference, Asda’s petrol was the most costly of the ‘gig 4’ at 145p. 

Asda additionally had a monumental 34p worth distinction between its least expensive and costliest litre of petrol bought throughout the UK. 

The grocery store charged 138.7p at its Guildford forecourt and 172.9p at junction 29A of the M1 close to Sheffield – a Shell-branded website operated by Asda. Comparatively, Tesco had the smallest distinction between its lowest and highest costs at simply 6p (138.9p v 144.9p)

Tesco now provides the most affordable petrol. The common value of a litre of unleaded is 142.7p throughout the grocery store’s 511 forecourts

Asda has gone from being the most affordable grocery store retailer to the most costly, RAC Gasoline Watch discovered

READ MORE: How YOU can lower your gas payments: Ten hypermiling ideas

With petrol and diesel costs rising by round 6p a litre already this 12 months, filling up at forecourts continues to place a pressure on motorists’ funds in 2024.

That is why studying to ‘hypermile’ will profit all drivers. That is the title given to a sequence of vitality environment friendly measures motorists can put into observe to avoid wasting petrol, diesel or electrical energy (when you personal an EV). 

Utilizing actually easy hypermiling methods – like these listed beneath – ‘can simply save the equal of 9p-a-litre’, says the AA. 

> Learn our 10 hypermiling ideas 

On the finish of March, Sainsbury’s bought the most affordable unleaded at 136.9p at two websites – one in Wolverhampton and one at Dungannon in Northern Eire. 

Tesco, nonetheless, was charging its lowest worth – 138.9p – at 30 separate forecourts.

Asda, then again, was solely charging its lowest petrol worth of 138.7p at one in every of its 658 forecourts.

Sainsbury’s and Tesco have been tied for the bottom common diesel worth throughout their portfolios at 151.7p and 151.8p. 

Asda’s hole between its least expensive and costliest diesel was 35.2p (147.7p at Guildford, Torquay and two in Northern Eire v 182.9p on the Shell-branded website it runs close to junction 29 of the M1).

Tesco had the smallest hole of simply 6p between diesel at its forecourts (148.9p v 154.9p) whereas Morrisons was additionally beneath 10p (145.7p v 154.9p) Sainsbury’s had the most affordable diesel at 142.9p, however this was solely out there at Andersontown, close to Belfast, in Northern Eire. 

Tesco’s lowest worth of 148.9p was, nonetheless, on provide at 45 of its forecourts.

Sainsbury’s is the most affordable place to refill you probably have a diesel automobile. Once more, motorists are greatest to keep away from Asda, which is the most costly of the massive 4 grocery store gas retailers

When non-supermarket gas sellers, BP and Shell-operated forecourts have been discovered to have very massive variations between their least expensive and highest gas costs. 

For unleaded, BP has a spot of 27p (142.9p v 169.9p) and Shell 26p (143.9p v 169.9p) throughout their 287 and 536 forecourts. 

For diesel, it’s 30p for BP (149.9p v 179.9p) and 26p for Shell (153.9p v 179.9p).

Williams added: ‘Sadly, Asda seems to not be the pressure it as soon as was in gas retailing. 

‘Gone are the times when it used to announce massive headline-grabbing pump worth cuts when wholesale costs fell, together with a promise on the time that drivers would by no means pay greater than a sure low worth at any of its forecourts.’

The RAC’s gas professional says client now ‘badly want’ to see the top of postcode-lottery costs for petrol and diesel and for the Authorities to push forward with its ‘Pumpwatch’ ambitions to make it a requirement for retailers to publish their pricing inside half-hour of constructing adjustments.