In the month when the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) disclosed that fuel retailers had overcharged drivers by £1.6bn in 2023, RAC Fuel Watch* data indicates that petrol and diesel prices remained stubbornly fixed in July at 145p (144.76p) and 150p (149.8p) per litre, respectively. Despite wholesale prices justifying reductions at the pumps, motorists are, on average, still overpaying by 5p per litre for petrol and 8p for diesel. This translates to nearly £3 per tank (£2.75) for petrol and £4.40 for diesel.
RAC’s analysis of wholesale prices reveals that average retailer margins have risen to 13p per litre for unleaded, an increase of 3p in July, and to 14.5p for diesel—both significantly above the long-term averages of 8p. Consequently, drivers should ideally be paying 140p for unleaded and 142p for diesel.
Image by IADE-Michoko from Pixabay
In contrast, drivers in Northern Ireland continue to benefit from fairer prices, with petrol averaging 140p (139.7p) and diesel 142p (141.6p) per litre—5p and 8p lower than the UK average. This is because retailers in Northern Ireland maintain a margin of around 8p per litre, unlike their counterparts in the rest of the UK.
A full tank of petrol for a 55-litre family car bought at the UK average price of 145p costs nearly £80 (£79.62), whereas in Northern Ireland it is around £77. For diesel at 150p, it costs £82 (£82.39) compared to just £78 (£77.88) in Northern Ireland.
Analysis of supermarket fuel prices shows that a litre of unleaded averaged 142p and diesel 147p at the 1,664 forecourts operated by the four major brands—3p below the UK averages for both petrol and diesel. However, there are notable differences between each brand’s lowest and highest prices. For instance, buying petrol at an Asda forecourt—anywhere apart from on the motorway—can vary by as much as 18p per litre, the largest disparity of any supermarket. The difference across all Tesco forecourts is the smallest at just 7p per litre.
The RAC also discovered that Asda, which operates 665 forecourts—around half of which are at their supermarket stores—only provided pump prices to the Competition and Markets Authority’s voluntary data scheme on 12 days in July (39% of the time), giving it the poorest compliance record of the 14 participating retailers. The other three supermarkets submitted data every day in July, as did BP, Shell, and the Motor Fuel Group, which operates some 1,200 sites. Retailers Ascona Group, running 61 forecourts under various fuel brands, and SGN, with 102 forecourts, were the only others not to have a 100% record, supplying data 25 and 22 times out of the 31 days, respectively.
RAC’s head of policy, Simon Williams, commented: “It’s disappointing to see fuel prices remain significantly higher than they should be, especially after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced at the end of July that drivers were overcharged by an astonishing £1.6bn last year. With our analysis clearly showing margins still well above the long-term average, it appears that nothing has changed and drivers continue to be disadvantaged despite ongoing scrutiny from the CMA and the Government.
“Additionally, the wholesale fuel market is trending lower due to the price of oil falling by $6 to around $80 at the end of July. This should naturally result in lower pump prices, but as the CMA highlighted in its report, competition in fuel retailing is extremely weak. Consequently, we regretfully don’t anticipate pump prices dropping much further unless retailers heed the CMA’s recommendations and introduce much-needed fairer pricing strategies.
“It must be incredibly frustrating for drivers to see the UK average price of petrol stuck at 145p when the wholesale cost warrants lower pump prices—clearly evidenced by the fact that those in Northern Ireland are paying 5p less. The situation is even more dire for diesel, with an 8p price difference.
“The introduction of the Government’s Pumpwatch scheme cannot come soon enough, nor can the establishment of an official price monitoring body, provided it has the authority to penalise retailers who consistently overcharge.”
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