1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212 
Budget causes UK fuel price fall
Page 28
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Despite the dip, UK prices are still the highest in Europe, but choosing the right method of fuel payment could keep you competitive.
Jon Brooke-Langham, Keyfuels
Fuel prices in Europe have remained fairly stable this month, with no changes in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain or the Czech Republic. Although UK prices (£0.94/€1.35) are still the highest in Europe, €0.19 higher than the second-highest country. Italy (€1.16), we have also seen the greatest decrease (-1.48%). The lowest fuel price is in Poland (€0.94) .
The high prices in the UK are partly because our duty on diesel is €0.67 per litre against a European average of just €0.32 per litre, The unusual fall in UK fuel prices this month may be attributed to the Chancellor's Budget Statement on 22 March in which diesel duty rates were frozen until 1 September. However, duty rates will rise in line with inflation from 1 September on the expectation of world oil prices stabilising.
With about one in eight of the heaviest vehicles on UK roads coming from overseas, competition against foreign vehicles working on cheap European fuel is tough. Efficient fuel use is the most important tool that UK fleet operators have to control their costs and remain competitive.
Choice of fuel payment is key to fuel efficiency. Cash: credit cards, local account and fuel cards all have their pros and cons.
Although cash and credit cards are accepted everywhere, their many drawbacks include the risk of theft and total lack of control over where and what is purchased. Local accounts with garages have the opposite set of problems. Although they give control of where drivers purchase fuel, they restrict the choice of garages, even when prices rise.
For the majority of fleet operators, fuel cards offer the best solution. Benefits include a reduced risk of fraud, transparency of fuel purchase, simplified administration and greater overall control.