A new study reveals that the North East has seen the third quickest fuel price recovery in the UK so far in 2023! With Durham leading the region with a decrease of 12.94%.
That’s according to Moneyzine, who utilised data from UK fuel pricing data to uncover which UK region has been most successful in recovering their fuel prices across diesel, unleaded and super unleaded price per litre so far this year.
Finance expert, Jonathan Merry, also provides his tips on finding the cheapest fuel.
For more information please visit the blog here:
https://moneyzine.com/uk/news/2023/06/15/the-rise-and-fall-of-uk-fuel-costs/
Key Findings
- Tyne and Wear saw the highest increase (20.33%) in fuel prices in 2022, whilst Durham has seen the largest recovery this year with a 12.94% drop in average price.
- Tyne and Wear has experienced the slowest recovery in fuel prices among the North East to recover fuel prices – with just an 11.86% decrease so far this year.
- Tyne and Wear also had the highest fuel price in the second half of 2022, with an average of 183.13PPL
- Durham saw the smallest fuel price increase at 19%, the lowest in the North East.
The North East counties with the quickest fuel price drops
| County | Fuel price increase 2022 | Average fuel price PPL* [07/22 – 12/22] | Average fuel price PPL* [01/23 – 05/23] | Fuel Price Decrease % |
| Durham | 19.00% | 180.92 | 157.59 | -12.94% |
| County Durham | 20.28% | 181.99 | 158.72 | -12.84% |
| Northumberland | 20.17% | 182.92 | 160.97 | -12.05% |
| Tyne and Wear | 20.33% | 183.13 | 161.53 | -11.86% |
*The breakdown of PPL fuel prices by Diesel, unleaded and super unleaded can be seen, here
*Data collected from FleetNews.co.uk
Durham has had the largest recovery of fuel prices
Moneyzine can reveal that Durham has been most successful in recovering their fuel prices. Following a 19.00% surge in 2022, the average price of fuel stood at a staggering 180.92 PPL. This has since decreased by a significant 12.94% to 157.59 PPL as of May 2023.
County Durham has seen the second largest decrease of average fuel prices with a 12.84% recovery on the region’s elevated 2022 average price. The county’s fuel prices reached 181.99 PPL in the second half of 2022, over a fifth (20.28%) higher than the start of the year.
Tyne and Wear has had the slowest recovery of fuel prices
Having left 2022 with an average of 183.13 PPL, the highest amongst all counties in North East England, Tyne and Wear’s fuel prices have been the slowest to return to pre-surge levels, with a decrease of just 11.86% so far this year. This is 1.08% more than Durham – despite being just 22 miles apart.
Jonathan Merry, Personal Finance Expert and CEO at Moneyzine.co.uk offers his tips on finding the cheapest fuel:
- Fill up in off peak hours
Opting for weekdays or non-peak hours to fill up can often secure more favourable prices.
- Download fuel comparison apps
Downloading reliable apps and checking websites can provide real-time updates on fuel pricing in your area, allowing you to make informed decisions.
- Join a loyalty program
Consider joining fuel station loyalty programs, these often provide discounted rates and special promotions for cardholders.
- Keep an eye on fuel pricing in your area
Local prices are varying a lot at the moment, factors like competition, refinery proximity, and transportation costs can influence fuel prices significantly.
Methodology:
- Moneyzine sought to investigate which of the North East counties has so far been the most successful in recovering average fuel prices in 2023, following a sharp rise in costs in 2022.
- For every county analysed, FleetNews.co.uk was scraped for fuel prices in all months across Diesel, Unleaded and Super Unleaded PPL (pence per litre), from May 2023-Dec 2021 (Data for Feb 2022 was unavailable and therefore not included in the dataset).
- The average of Dec 2021, Jan 2022, March 2022 was compared to the average of Dec 2022-July 2022 to find out how much the percentile increase was for Diesel, Unleaded and Super Unleaded across all counties. These were then averaged to find out overall which region had the highest increase in fuel prices over 2022.
- Additionally, the 5-month average over May-Jan 2023 was calculated and compared to Dec 2022-July 2022 to find out which region recovered best from the fuel increase.
Data was collected on 11/05/2023 and is accurate as of then.