Fuel prices and oil this week

The figures load when the page opens rather than being written into it, because a price saved in a file is out of date the moment it is saved. The same national averages are also on fuel prices.

France, Spain and Italy: the median station in the government’s full list, so half the stations charge less and half more. Russia and the United States: the average the agency publishes. Russia stays in roubles, because the European Central Bank publishes no rouble rate.

Is it worth crossing the border to fill up?

Compares the national average price in two EU countries and takes off the fuel you burn getting there.

These are national averages, not the price at a particular station: a station near the border can sit well above or below its country’s figure, so check the map before you drive. Tolls, parking and your time are not counted. The extra driving is priced at the average of the two countries’ prices.

How far prices spread inside a country

The bar runs from the cheapest 5% of stations to the dearest 5%, so nine stations in ten sit on it. The line is the median.

A wide bar means shopping around pays: the same litre costs noticeably more at one station than at another in the same country. The map shows which stations those are.

Exchange rates

European Central Bank reference rates, published on working days. The table above is converted with them.

Why the pump price moves

Crude oil is only part of what you pay. Tax, the refining margin, the exchange rate and the competition on your street make up the rest.

Brent and WTI

Two crude oil benchmarks. Brent, from the North Sea, is the reference for most of Europe, Africa and Asia; WTI is the United States benchmark. They usually sit a few dollars a barrel apart, and a wider gap points to a supply or transport problem in one region.

The refining margin

Crude is refined into petrol, diesel and jet fuel. The gap between crude and those products is the refining margin, or crack spread. A refinery outage or a cold winter can lift pump prices while crude stays flat, which is why petrol and diesel do not always move together.

Why countries pay different prices

Mostly tax: excise duty and VAT are half or more of the pump price in much of Europe and far less in the United States. Oil is bought in dollars, so a weaker local currency raises every litre. Distance from a refinery and local competition do the rest.

Petrol and diesel

They are refined and taxed differently. Diesel moves freight, so it follows the wider economy; petrol follows the summer driving season. In some countries diesel is cheaper, in others dearer, so compare the fuel your car uses.

Why stations differ

Inside one country the tax is the same, so the gap between stations is rent, supply and competition. Motorway stations and remote areas charge more; supermarket and unmanned stations usually charge less. The spread above shows how wide that gap is.

From crude to the pump

A change in crude usually reaches pump prices over one to three weeks, as stations sell the fuel they bought earlier and buy new deliveries at the new price. Prices tend to rise faster than they fall.

Sources

• Brent and WTI U.S. Energy Information Administration spot prices, every business day. eia.gov
• United States EIA weekly retail survey, regular gasoline and diesel, per US gallon, published on Mondays. eia.gov
• France every station’s price in the government feed, read hourly, Licence Ouverte. prix-carburants.gouv.fr
• Spain every station’s price from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, read every six hours. geoportalgasolineras.es
• Italy every station’s 08:00 price from the Ministry of Enterprises (MIMIT), once a day. carburanti.mise.gov.it
• Russia Rosstat’s weekly survey of about 1,800 filling stations, published on Wednesdays. The daily exchange price is on fuel prices.
• Exchange rates European Central Bank reference rates. ecb.europa.eu

These are national figures, not the price at one station. The map shows the stations themselves and what drivers reported there. Belarus is not covered: no official source is connected.