The prices of petrol vary wildly from one filling station to another, often resulting in a significant difference in cost for motorists just a short drive away. So what are the main reasons behind this discrepancy?
It all comes down to how retailers source their fuel and then pass those costs onto consumers. The wholesale price of petrol is influenced by factors such as oil prices and exchange rates, which means that UK petrol retailers have limited control over these elements. Instead, they make up for it with margins on top of the wholesale cost.
The bigger retailers tend to have an easier time negotiating better deals due to their higher volumes of purchases. This often means smaller independent stations can be more competitive in terms of prices.
Another key factor is VAT and fuel duty, which currently account for 56 per cent of petrol's price. Additionally, there are the operators' costs plus profit margins to consider.
The Competition and Markets Authority has been monitoring petrol retailers and found that supermarkets have an average margin of 8.4 percent in recent years, while other retailers have an average margin of 9.8 percent. This difference is largely due to supermarkets being able to use fuel as a loss leader, getting customers into their stores.
The decision by supermarkets to be less aggressive on petrol prices has had negative consequences for consumers. It's worth noting that UK forecourt operators are often subject to franchise agreements and therefore have limited control over pricing.
It all comes down to how retailers source their fuel and then pass those costs onto consumers. The wholesale price of petrol is influenced by factors such as oil prices and exchange rates, which means that UK petrol retailers have limited control over these elements. Instead, they make up for it with margins on top of the wholesale cost.
The bigger retailers tend to have an easier time negotiating better deals due to their higher volumes of purchases. This often means smaller independent stations can be more competitive in terms of prices.
Another key factor is VAT and fuel duty, which currently account for 56 per cent of petrol's price. Additionally, there are the operators' costs plus profit margins to consider.
The Competition and Markets Authority has been monitoring petrol retailers and found that supermarkets have an average margin of 8.4 percent in recent years, while other retailers have an average margin of 9.8 percent. This difference is largely due to supermarkets being able to use fuel as a loss leader, getting customers into their stores.
The decision by supermarkets to be less aggressive on petrol prices has had negative consequences for consumers. It's worth noting that UK forecourt operators are often subject to franchise agreements and therefore have limited control over pricing.
. Like, can't we just get a decent price without having to drive around the country looking for the cheapest fill? It's not like it's rocket science, right? The bigger retailers are making out like bandits, and it's killing me that small businesses have to work twice as hard to compete.
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it's like the more convenient places just charge us more. supermarkets should really look into this, it's not fair to everyone else. i know some people are saying they use petrol as a loss leader but that sounds kinda sneaky, shouldn't we all get better deals? anyway, hope they do something about it soon, I'm getting a bit fed up with the constant price jumps 
they're getting stuck with the big companies' margins 
meanwhile, customers are paying more on average. we should really look into this and see what can be done to make it more competitive 