Report good news for Brits driving abroad

UK pump prices may be pushing up, but Britons taking their car abroad will face considerably lower fuel costs this summer, according to a Post Office Travel Money survey.

The price of petrol and of diesel has fallen compared with this time last year in all 22 European countries surveyed, with UK motorists likely to notice just how low the cost of diesel, in particular, is on the continent.

The surveyed countries include not only Ireland but also the UK, where – despite the recent rise in fuel – petrol is now 14p a litre lower than last year, while diesel is 16p lower. However, these UK falls are not as great as some in other countries. In Turkey, for example, a litre of petrol is now 29p, or 18%, lower than it was a year ago, while its diesel has dipped 32p a litre, or 23%.

In Austria, petrol is down 22% and diesel 26% compared with last summer, while in Cyprus petrol and diesel have both fallen 20%.

Currently, the cheapest fuel on the continent is to be found in Andorra where petrol is just 86p a litre and diesel only 75p.

Of the larger European countries, Austria has the leastexpensive fuel, with petrol 90p a litre and diesel 81p a litre.

The recent rises in pump prices in the UK means there are only six of the surveyed countries currently selling petrol at more than the UK figure of 117p a litre, with the most expensive being Norway, at 139p a litre.

But the Norway figure is still 25p, or 15%, lower than last year.

Only Norway, at 125p a litre, offers diesel at a greater price at present than the UK (121p). As many as 14 countries, including Ireland, where diesel is currently 99p a litre, are selling diesel at under £1.

Andrew Brown, of Post Office Travel Money, said: “People planning European motoring trips can bank on the cost of a litre of unleaded petrol being up to 22% lower than last summer and 26% less for diesel.”