Drivers urged to rush to Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons or Asda petrol station
Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Asda drivers who've filled up in 2025 so far have been warned to make the most of it - because fuel prices are set to tick back up. Stuart Masson, Editorial Director at The Car Expert, noted that oil prices were "unusually low" in 2024, despite instability in the Middle East.
He said: "Filling a typical 55-litre petrol car currently costs about £75, while diesel costs £78 – around £6 to £7 cheaper than last year. But we don’t expect that to last indefinitely, so customers should be planning for prices to start heading back up in 2025."
Fuel prices can vary a lot, even over a short distance. In March 2024, an RAC investigation for ITV's Tonight show found a 27p per litre difference between the price charged for petrol at two filling stations just a short drive apart.
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The RAC explained: "Generally speaking, higher oil prices lead to higher petrol and diesel prices at UK forecourts - and in theory at least, lower oil prices should lead to cheaper pump prices. But there are other variables that affect what we pay when we fill up, including the strength of Sterling compared to the US dollar (since oil is traded in dollars) and retailers' willingness to pass on wholesale savings they make to drivers."
It added: "Pump prices change when there are significant and sustained increases or reductions in the wholesale price of petrol or diesel. Retailers can reflect these savings as often or as infrequently as they like.
"In reality though the retail fuel market tends to be led by the supermarkets, as despite only having around 16% of UK forecourts they are responsible for some 44% of total fuel sales, so we often see widespread cuts being passed on at the pumps at the same time.
"The other factor which affects when forecourt prices are changed is how frequently retailers buy their fuel. Retailers who use greater volumes tend to buy more frequently and can therefore alter their prices more quickly - if they choose to."