How UK petrol prices compare to rest of Europe

The UK comes ninth in a ranking of 28 European countries by petrol prices, with the Netherlands topping the list with the highest average cost for a litre of unleaded.

Drivers in the UK are also paying the fifth-highest price for a litre of diesel compared with the other countries, with only Sweden, Finland, Belgium and the Netherlands paying more, according to the data gathered by RAC Fuel Watch.

A litre of petrol costs an average of 174p in the Netherlands, compared with 153p in the UK. Diesel costs in the Netherlands are the same as those in the UK, 160p.

Sweden pays the most for diesel at 179p, but just 148p for unleaded. The average price for petrol and diesel across the European countries stands at 144p and 146p.

The second-most expensive country for petrol was Denmark at 169p, followed by Finland at 166p and Greece at 163p.

As of 30 November, the prices in those countries for diesel were 159p, 174p and 152p respectively.

France came fifth at 161p for petrol and 158p for diesel, followed by Germany at 160p and 153p. Italy’s price for a litre of unleaded is 160p and 159p for diesel, while the figures in Spain stand at 141p for petrol and 140p for diesel.

The cheapest countries for petrol are Romania and Malta at 120 and 117 respectively, and Malta is also cheapest for diesel, at 106p.

Where does the money go?

Of the 153p per litre of petrol in the UK, 53p goes in duty, 25p in VAT and 74p in the cost of fuel and margin, according to the RAC.

The figures are fairly similar for diesel in the UK, with 53p going to duty, 27p VAT and 80p the cost of fuel and margin.

i reported last week that average petrol prices had dropped twice as fast as previously after a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) report accusing retailers of not reflecting a decline in wholesale costs, the AA has said.

It took 31 days for prices to decrease by 3.5p per litre from 8 October. In just 14 days after the CMA issued its report on 9 November, prices dropped by 3.75p.

The regulator warned that in September and October, the differences between pump prices and wholesale costs of fuel were “significantly above the long-term average”, and a continuation of that trend would “cause concern” about a lack of competition.

Luke Bosdet, AA pump price spokesperson, said: “It’s amazing what happens when the competition watchdog gives the fuel trade a good prod – pump prices fall at twice the speed and £2 comes off the cost of a tank of petrol within a fortnight.”