Fuel prices continue to rise nicely. The price of petrol rose in March for the first time in a long time to an average of more than 1.70, while diesel costs an average of almost 1.40.
Those who do not yet drive electrically have undoubtedly noticed: fuel is rapidly becoming more expensive. CBS StatLine records an average petrol price (E10, Euro 95) of € 1,730 per liter for March, compared to € 1,567 in March 2020. In April last year, the petrol price even dropped below 1.50, only to rise again in June. Since then, the average has remained stuck around € 1.55 for a long time, but in January the fuel price started to rise. In that month the average petrol price came to € 1,615, in February to € 1,676 and in March to exactly € 1.73.
E5, for which more and more Dutch people like to pay extra, is unfortunately not included in the figures of Statistics Netherlands.
Diesel and LPG
A similar story applies to diesel. In March last year, diesel was sold for an average of € 1,268, now it is € 1,392. The increase from September 2020 is even more impressive, with an average of just € 1,167 in that month.
LPG has also become more expensive, although this can also be explained here by the natural price increase that this product always experiences in winter. LPG now costs an average of € 0.739, against € 0.607 in the warm spring of 2020.
Corona
Part of the explanation for the increase is that fuel demand was historically low a year ago due to the start of the corona pandemic and the associated lockdowns. Those lockdowns are still there, but there is more driving now than a year ago. The favorable reports about vaccines are also boosting oil and thus fuel prices, Nu.nl reports.
Price differences
The figures from Statistics Netherlands also make it clear again how much it pays to look for a cheap pump. The average price of petrol along the motorway was € 1,858 in March, almost 13 cents more than the general average. Manned filling stations that are not located along the motorway asked at € 1,727 just less than average, while unmanned filling stations with € 1,683 came out well below the average. Diesel along the highway cost an average of € 1.509 and at unmanned filling stations came to an average of € 1.353.