Filling up at the pump is always the biggest cost for any motorist in Northern Ireland. Discussions about the price of petrol and diesel are ubiquitous, with drivers desperate to find out where the cheapest fuel can be found. As an island region, stuck on the periphery of Europe and subject to some of the highest fuel taxation in the world, we have resigned ourselves to the fact that our petrol and diesel will always be more expensive that everyone else’s.
However, in a total turn up, this isn’t actually the case!
Remarkably, the AA fuel price report shows that diesel in Northern Ireland is the cheapest in the UK, by 1.4 pence a litre. Northern Irish petrol prices are also bang on the UK mean; in fact the AA analysis shows that the only region with that has cheaper than average prices than Northern Ireland is Wales.
Our near neighbours in Scotland – an area with very similar geography to our own – have to stump up nearly 2 pence more on average for a litre of diesel and 0.5 pence for petrol.
As the market for super unleaded in Northern Ireland remains small, it’s no surprise to see that we have to endure one of the highest average prices for higher octane petrol. Although, bizarrely a litre of super is currently most expensive in the West Midlands
Service stations the other side of the Northern Ireland border continue to offer more attractive prices, due to the combination of lower taxation and attractive exchange rates. The AA calculate that the price of diesel in the Republic of Ireland is equivalent to around 94 pence per litre, whilst the price of unleaded is roughly 103.3.
If you are want to avail of permanently low fuel prices, the only option left is to move to the USA. At 47 pence for a litre petrol, it’s almost cheaper than water.