| UK only 7th most expensive for petrol |
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| 12 June 2008 | |
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UK motorists will be feeling the pinch when they fill up their tanks in petrol stations across the country's, with unleaded fuel costing an average of £1.16 a litre. But they should also spare a thought for their Norwegian cousins, who are forking out a staggering £1.40 a litre, according to new research from Post Office Travel Services. It found that the UK was only the seventh most expensive European country in which to buy petrol, being overtaken in terms of cost by Germany, France, Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium and Norway, in ascending order. Spain and Switzerland are the two cheapest places to fill up, said the survey, and Switzerland was the only one of 12 European destinations where unleaded fuel cost less than £1 a litre.
But, while all 12 countries have seen petrol price hikes in the last 12 months, the report pointed to specific rising costs for drivers in the UK. "Sterling has fallen in value by 14% against the euro in the past year, and by even more in the other motoring holiday destinations," said the head of travel at the Post Office, Helen Warburton. "When we extracted this percentage from the price rises, we found that the UK had suffered the highest underlying price hike - 20% at the pumps."
The report also looked at the cost of holiday car hire, extending the survey to 20 countries. It found that three-day rental rates were cheapest in Florida in the US, followed by Spain and Portugal and most expensive in Greece and Norway.
Costs of petrol per litre:
Source: Post Office Travel Services Tag this article :     |
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