The UK now has the dubious honour of having the most expensive
diesel in Europe despite the current 5p-a-litre fuel duty
discount introduced in March 2022, new data from the
RAC reveals.
The average price of diesel at UK pumps is currently 155p which
makes it 5p more expensive than both Ireland and Belgium on 150p,
based on the latest European data available*.
Although duty on both petrol and diesel was cut from 57.95p to
52.95p in spring 2022 to ease the burden of rapidly rising fuel
prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the UK still has
the highest rate of duty on diesel in Europe alongside Italy.
Despite this, diesel in Italy is still currently 7p cheaper than
the UK, at an average of 148p a litre.
France's duty rate is only the equivalent of a penny lower than
the UK (52p) but its average price for diesel is 9p less at 146p.
In Belgium, where duty is the equivalent of 2p less than the UK
at 51p, its diesel is 5p cheaper at 150p.
Interestingly, while France has the same VAT rate as the UK at
20%, Italy and Belgium have higher rates at 22% and 21%
respectively, yet still charge less at the pumps. In Ireland,
where diesel at forecourts is 5p less than the UK at 150p, duty
is also 6p less at 47p a litre but notably VAT is 3% higher at
23%.
By way of comparison, the UK's petrol is only the 11th most
expensive in Europe at an average of 149p, in stark contrast to
the priciest petrol which can be found in Denmark at an average
of 175p. That said, duty in Denmark is far higher than in the UK
– the equivalent of 59p, with VAT at 25%.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “Having the most
expensive diesel in Europe despite the current 5p duty cut is a
very dubious honour.
“This is explained by RAC Fuel Watch calculations which show the
average retailer margin on diesel – that's the difference between
the delivered wholesale price and the retail price before VAT –
is 18p. That's a shocking 10p more than the long-term average of
8p.
“Despite the RAC bringing the issue to the attention of Energy
Secretary in a letter just over a
week ago, the price of diesel at the pump has barely fallen, even
though the wholesale prices of petrol and diesel are identical at
just 111p a litre. The average price of a litre of diesel should
really be down to around the 145p level if retailers were
charging fairer prices. The margin on petrol is also, in our
view, unreasonably high at 13p.
“We can see no good reason why retailers in Great Britain aren't
cutting their prices at the pumps. It's important to note that in
Northern Ireland, where there is greater competition for fuels in
the absence of supermarket dominance, the average price of diesel
is just 144.9p – 10p less than the UK average, and petrol is 6p
cheaper at 142.4p.
“There is cause for hope for fairer fuel prices in the future as
the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act became law on
Friday, giving new powers to the Competition and Markets
Authority to closely monitor road fuel prices and report any sign
of malpractice to the Government.”
Drivers looking to save money on their fill-ups should take
advantage of the fuel finder feature in the
free myRAC app. The app can be downloaded for free from the App
Store or Google Play.
Up to nine searches a day can be made over a two, five or 10-mile
radius, with each giving the five cheapest prices.
Ends
Notes to Editors
* UK average pump prices quoted are based on Competition and
Markets Authority data. European prices are from
the European Commission's
Weekly Oil Bulletin. Latest data is for 20 May. Margins are
calculated based on wholesale data, oil price and the value of
sterling provided by Fuel Prices Online.
