Petrol and diesel prices by region: Northern Ireland 8p cheaper

Northern Ireland remains by far the cheapest part of the UK for fuel. On FuelWise's figures for 28 October, the average price of E10 unleaded there is 164.9p a litre, 7.9p below the UK average of 172.8p. Diesel tells the same story: 190.9p in Northern Ireland against 198.7p across the UK.

Across Great Britain the regional gaps are much smaller, and in most places what you pay depends more on which forecourt you choose than on which region you live in. With oil climbing again and the Chancellor delivering his Budget today, here is where prices stand region by region, using figures captured early this morning, before the Budget speech.

Petrol prices by region

Average E10 unleaded price, pence per litre, with the change over the past seven days:

The South East is the dearest region for petrol at 174.7p, 9.8p above Northern Ireland. On a 55-litre fill-up that is about £5.40. Leave Northern Ireland out, though, and the spread across Great Britain shrinks to 3.7p, between the North East at 171.0p and the South East. That is about £2 a tank.

Every region got cheaper over the week. London had the biggest fall at 1.5p, followed by the South West at 1.4p. Wales and the North West moved least, at 0.9p each. Across the UK, E10 is down 1.2p over seven days and 1.8p over 30 days.

Diesel prices by region

Diesel varies even less between regions in Great Britain. The North East is cheapest at 198.1p. Yorkshire and the Humber, the North West and Wales are all at 198.4p. Three regions average £2 a litre or more: London at 200.0p, Scotland at 200.2p and the South East at 200.3p. That is a spread of just 2.2p across Great Britain.

Northern Ireland is again the outlier at 190.9p, 9.4p below the South East. Diesel cuts have been slow everywhere, though. The UK average fell only 0.4p over the week, against 1.2p for petrol. The North East saw the largest weekly fall at 0.6p, while the South East and East Midlands managed just 0.2p. Full figures are on the diesel prices page.

Why Northern Ireland is cheaper

The usual explanation is the border. When the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its road fuel market study in July 2023, it said prices were significantly lower in Northern Ireland, most likely because filling stations there compete with forecourts across the Irish border, which face different competition and taxes, the Irish News reported at the time.

FuelWise's council-area figures show how clear the gap is. The five cheapest council areas in the UK for unleaded are all in Northern Ireland, led by Causeway Coast and Glens at 164.0p. Next come Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon and Ards and North Down, both at 164.5p. Maxol and Circle K also have the lowest brand averages for E10 in FuelWise's figures, at 165.5p and 165.3p, close to the Northern Ireland average.

At the other end, the dearest council areas for unleaded are West Berkshire at 182.3p, Na h-Eileanan Siar at 181.0p and Tandridge at 180.4p. The gap between the cheapest and dearest council-area averages is 18.3p a litre, or about £10 on a 55-litre tank. Some of these areas have only a few forecourts with a recent price (11 in Na h-Eileanan Siar, for example), so one or two sites can move the average.

The bigger gaps are within regions

For most drivers in Great Britain, the type of forecourt matters more than the region. Supermarket forecourts average 170.6p for E10 and 196.1p for diesel. Other forecourts average 173.2p and 199.5p. That puts supermarkets about 2.6p a litre cheaper for petrol and 3.4p cheaper for diesel. Motorway services average 192.0p for E10 and 216.9p for diesel, about 19p a litre above the UK average for petrol.

Across all forecourts, the cheapest E10 in the UK is 153.9p and the dearest is 209.9p. Retailers are cutting more often than raising: in the past seven days FuelWise recorded 9,066 price changes, of which 7,692 were cuts and 1,374 rises. In the 24 hours to this morning there were 1,604 cuts and 169 rises. It is worth checking the live price map before you set off, rather than assuming your usual forecourt is still competitive.

Oil climbs again after strike on Saudi refinery

The cuts are happening against a difficult backdrop. Brent crude settled at $116.72 a barrel on Friday 23 October, its highest close since April, Oil & Gas Middle East reported, citing Reuters. It then fell for two sessions as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey met for talks in Tehran and agreed to keep talking. The same report said President Trump had hinted that US strikes on Iran could resume after the US midterm elections on 3 November, citing Bloomberg.

Prices rose again on Wednesday. Yemen's Houthis said on Tuesday that they had hit Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery, the kingdom's biggest, with a missile, Reuters reported. Saudi authorities had not confirmed the attack. Brent futures rose $1.48, or 1.3%, to $115.36, according to Reuters. Reuters also reported that OPEC+ is expected to keep its December output targets steady at its meeting on Sunday.

Diesel's wholesale picture is a little softer. In a note on 28 October, ING analysts said the ICE gasoil crack had fallen towards $70 a barrel, its lowest since early October. The crack is a measure of diesel refining margins. ING said diesel markets had eased after Russia lifted its diesel export ban earlier this month, following a deal with President Trump to supply more diesel to world markets. So far, that easing has done little at the pumps, where diesel is down only 0.4p in a week.

The pound is not helping either. Oil is priced in dollars, so a weaker pound makes fuel dearer here. Sterling fell 0.19% to $1.3317 on Tuesday as traders waited for the US Federal Reserve's decision and the UK Budget, both due today, Investing.com reported.

What the Budget could mean

Chancellor John Healey delivers his first Budget today. Fuel duty has been held at 52.95p a litre and is set to rise by 5p by next March, the RAC said this week. Ahead of the speech, Healey was expected to cancel January's planned increase in fuel duty, as first reported by The Sun. Business Motoring reported, citing the BBC, that he was due to announce a freeze, with the 5p discount extended.

The RAC's survey of 1,208 drivers found 34% would prefer a cut in VAT on fuel and 29% a further cut in fuel duty. The RAC says fuel duty and VAT together make up 47% of the price of a litre of unleaded and 43% of a litre of diesel. The RAC noted that a duty cut takes the same amount off every litre, while a VAT cut saves more on dearer fuel such as diesel.

What it means for you

• If you live in Northern Ireland, you are likely already paying well below the UK average. Across Great Britain, regional differences are only a few pence.
• The bigger savings come from choosing the right forecourt. Supermarkets average about 2.6p a litre less than other forecourts for E10, and motorway services charge far more.
• With cuts still outnumbering rises, check prices near you on the fuel prices by area pages or the petrol prices page before filling up.