Petrol from supermarkets in rural areas costs 10 cents a liter more than what motorists pay in larger towns and cities, reports show
- Research shows that rural towns pay 145 pence per litre, compared to 135 pence in urban towns
- AA Fuel Price Report also found that there can be a 6 pence gap within urban areas
Motorists filling up their cars in rural towns typically pay 10 cents per gallon more for gasoline at the supermarket than motorists in larger cities, according to a new report.
Those who use supermarkets in rural areas pay an average of 145 pence per liter for petrol compared to 135 pence or less in more built-up areas, the AA claims. In some examples, the gap is as large as 15p.
AA’s latest fuel report also shows that there can be significant price differences between supermarkets in some larger towns and cities – sometimes as much as 6p a liter for unleaded petrol.
This news comes despite the Competition and Markets Authority demanding fairer pump prices in early July and as MPs try to pressure bosses to cut spending.
AA Fuel Price Report has found that supermarkets in many rural towns charge about 145 pence per liter for petrol compared to larger cities where it costs 135 pence or less
The analysis shows that the average price of a liter of petrol in the UK has stagnated over the past month.
It is down 0.08p from 143.47p in mid-June to just 143.39p this week.
The survey also found that diesel prices fell slightly to 144.36 pl, just a penny lower than the 145.33 p. from a month ago.
Looking only at the ‘Big Four’ supermarkets – Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco – unleaded prices averaged 141.39 pa-litres in mid-June compared to 143.51p at their rivals.
That difference of 2.12 pa-litres has risen to 2.65 pence this week, with superstores averaging 140.89 pence compared to 143.54 pence at their rivals.
With diesel, supermarkets’ price advantage over oil company sites shrunk on average from 3.18 pence to 2.82 pa litres.
Live petrol prices in Ashton-under-Lyne and Rochdale show the huge differences depending on where drivers fill up
The report comes in the wake of Energy Secretary Grant Shapps who held talks with industry leaders yesterday after a damning investigation by the CMA found that drivers had effectively been overcharged by £900m last year.
Mr Shapps told supermarkets and other petrol retailers to adopt a recommendation from the CMA to publish real-time petrol pump prices in a way that drivers can search for the cheapest option.
However, fuel price commentators – including the RAC and FairFuel UK – have argued that this will not be enough to guarantee motorists a fair deal.
Luke Bosdet, the spokesman for the AA, spoke about the drop in pump prices.
He said: ‘Despite government and Competition and Markets Authority holding supermarkets accountable for overcharging drivers for fuel, there were still wide variations in supermarket pump prices across the country over the weekend .
‘The most obvious was the extra £5 to £6 per tank paid to drivers in small rural towns with supermarkets, compared to prices in larger towns.
‘Price differences between communities in urban areas have narrowed, but in some parts it was still possible to encounter a difference of 6 pence per litre.
‘Bad habits are proving difficult to shake among UK fuel retailers and it’s not just the supermarkets’ fault.
“This week’s confrontation with the Secretary of Energy and a scheme of voluntary pump price transparency in August will hopefully send a rocket among fuel retailers, but the proof will be in pump prices through the summer break and beyond.”