As the price of fuel reaches an all-time high for the year, drivers have been forced to make money saving moves to afford the steep prices.
Knowing where the cheapest fuel fill-up spots are might save drivers money in the long term and help keep them on the roads for longer.
Between January and February, petrol rose by 5p per litre to 144.73p while diesel has since risen by over 6p to 154.53p during the same period.
According to the research, the cheapest place to purchase fuel is Belfast which comes in at 138.44p per litre, more than 6p cheaper than the highest amount recorded by the Competition and Markets Authority.
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Fuel prices are at the highest level since February PAJonathan Such, head of sales at First Response Finance, which commissioned the research, said: “As the country deals with the challenges of soaring bills and expenses, we’ve sifted through branded petrol stations, supermarkets, and service stations to map out the UK cities with the most budget-friendly fuel costs.
“Based on our findings, the capital city of Northern Ireland is the cheapest location for a refill, with petrol costs in Belfast averaging a reasonable 138.44p per litre.
“That’s by far the best deal you can hope to get throughout the UK.
“In fact, there is a significant 3.03p per litre difference with petrol bills in Birmingham, which instead sits in second place with an average fuel price of 141.47p.”
Belfast was closely followed by Birmingham, which offered fuel at 141.47p per litre with Leeds coming in next at 142.85p per litre.
Up North fared slightly better with Manchester seeing fuel prices reach 143.13p per litre and Liverpool recording fuel at 143.39p per litre.
Bath came in sixth with fuel costing 144.44p per litre, followed by Glasgow at 144.48p per litre and Cardiff at 144.54p per litre.
Bristol was fairly more expensive at 144.91p per litre, while Newcastle, although cheaper than the CMA number, was still high at 145.64p per litre.
The CMA estimated that the price hikes were driven, in part, by global factors such as changing crude oil prices.
Dan Turnbull, senior director of markets at the CMA, said: “Drivers are feeling the pinch as fuel prices have been edging up since January.
“We’re particularly concerned by high margins which indicate weakened competition and are not a good sign for drivers.”
Due to the price hikes, drivers have been forced to make drastic decisions to save costs which includes skipping car services, considering selling their cars or avoiding driving altogether.
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Petrol rose by 5p per litre to 144.73p
PASpeaking to GB News, expert Amanda Stretton explained how drivers continue to be affected by pump prices and the impact it is having on their finances.
Stretton said: “Costs are rising, whether those be direct costs to them through things like insurance or petrol prices, which are still very, very high, or indirect costs, road tax is going up, road quality is going down, parking is impossible."
