7 April 2026
Average supermarket pump prices began to catch up with their rivals last week, reducing the price difference on a litre of petrol from 7.55p two weeks ago to 5.45p last week.
As well as narrowing the options for finding significantly cheaper fuel, rising supermarket fuel prices also influence non-supermarket forecourts who set their prices according to what is being charged locally.
The concern is that, with the pump-price postcode lottery still plaguing parts of the UK, particularly in rural towns, other fuel stations’ prices will increase in line with what the local supermarket is charging.
Today (Tuesday), UK pump prices averaged 157.2p a litre for petrol and 189.2p for diesel **. Last Tuesday, they stood at 152.1p and 180.9p a litre respectively. Record pump prices came at the beginning of July 2022 when petrol averaged 191.53p a litre and diesel reached 199.07p.
Pump prices by type of retailer, provided to the AA*, show that last week petrol at supermarkets averaged 151.4p a litre compared to 156.85p for non-supermarkets, creating a gap of 5.45p.
“The pump-price postcode lottery remains the bane of UK drivers’ lives.”
The week before, superstores had averaged 144.5p a litre compared with 152.05p among non-supermarkets, a difference of 7.55p.
For diesel, supermarkets last week averaged 181.9p a litre versus 187.35p among their rivals, a difference of 5.45p.
The week before, the two averages of 169.5p a litre versus 178.3p had created a gap of 8.8p.
Last week, the AA recorded examples of postcode lotteries between towns in rural areas. They showed that some towns were paying a penalty of 5p or more for being more remote, despite having a supermarket selling fuel.
“It was inevitable that supermarket pump prices were eventually going to start to catch up with their rivals. The worst part is that this then spurs other fuel stations who set their prices by what their local supermarkets charge to increase theirs,” says Luke Bosdet, the AA’s spokesman on pump prices.
“The pump-price postcode lottery remains the bane of UK drivers’ lives. Chances are basic products on each supermarket’s shelves are the same price wherever you go, but road fuel is not. Pump-price transparency gives motoring consumers other cheaper options but these are more limited the deeper you go into rural areas. They are also the places where local residents do higher mileages and likely earn less.”