Petrol vs diesel prices

DUTR

It could be just local to where I am, however petrol and diesel are at the same price at 3 different filling stations.

OddballJamie

Same here, welcome to the age of private diesels dying out.
Last I heard petrol v diesel vehicle sales have started reversing. Where I work there's even petrol company cars now, what's that all about?

captainawsome

EU 6 will kill the Diesel engine in passenger cars. I've just changed from a petrol back to a diesel so have also noticed how close petrol and diesel prices have come in the last few months. Will diesel become cheaper than petrol again for the first time in years?

forgotmyname

I read a news post on some site the other day complaining that the cost of diesel should be much less than petrol currently and suggested that their needs to be a proper investigation on price fixing.

Coincidence?

AdrianC

I noticed a couple of filling stations today where diesel was 1p cheaper than petrol.

neilmcl

DUTR wrote: »

It could be just local to where I am, however petrol and diesel are at the same price at 3 different filling stations.

Supermarkets by any chance? The big four seem to be on a bit of a price war at the moment and dropped the price of diesel quite a bit in the last few days, the main guys, BP, Shell etc don't seem to be following suit.

Iceweasel

UK fuel prices and petrol being cheaper than diesel is out of step with most of Europe.

The price is manipulated by fuel tax and VAT as much as the base oil price.

The cost of diesel determines goods delivery prices both nationally and internationally and is part of the reason that there are so many foreign trucks on Britains roads and our UK transport industry has taken a beating.

Foreign trucks (unless they go further North than Manchester has usually no need to buy fuel in the UK to return across the channel.

As usual we have the dearest fuel in Europe.

Prices vary daily of course so check here to see how we are ripped off.

http://www.fuel-prices-europe.info/index.php?sort=6

I always take a print out of that page before I set off on any cross-channel trip so that I know which side of a border to fill upon.

Mercdriver

I was in Berlin this morning and passed the fuel station by the airport at Tegel. Diesel is 30 cents a litre cheaper than petrol in Germany. In NZ (though they pay for km in 10,000km denominations according to engine size) diesel is about 60p a litre....

AdrianC

Iceweasel wrote: »

The price is manipulated by fuel tax and VAT as much as the base oil price.

Both of which are exactly the same for diesel as petrol - unlike other countries, where there is a conscious subsidy of diesel relative to petrol.

From one barrel of oil, you get various fractions, in various percentages. You don't take a barrel and say "I'm going to make petrol from this" or "I'm going to make diesel". You get a certain %age of lighter fractions which go to petrol, and a certain %age of heavier which go to diesel, as well as other fractions for other uses.

The fraction which goes to diesel has more uses - and is in higher demand.

Iceweasel

AdrianC wrote: »

Both of which are exactly the same for diesel as petrol - unlike other countries, where there is a conscious subsidy of diesel relative to petrol.

From one barrel of oil, you get various fractions, in various percentages. You don't take a barrel and say "I'm going to make petrol from this" or "I'm going to make diesel". You get a certain %age of lighter fractions which go to petrol, and a certain %age of heavier which go to diesel, as well as other fractions for other uses.

The fraction which goes to diesel has more uses - and is in higher demand.

I understand that - so how exactly do they implement that conscious subsidy - by different tax rates?

Why do we do things differently in the UK as the price of diesel has a domino effect on everything we eat, wear, or use.

AdrianC

Iceweasel wrote: »

I understand that - so how exactly do they implement that conscious subsidy - by different tax rates?

Yep.

Why do we do things differently in the UK as the price of diesel has a domino effect on everything we eat, wear, or use.

Don't forget business users can reclaim the VAT on fuel, and the VED on commercial vehicles is a lot lower than you might expect.