Fuel prices in Mayo among the lowest countrywide
THE price at the pumps for petrol and diesel continues to fall and Mayo is one of the cheapest counties in which to fuel up.
In fact, if you drive a diesel car or van, you can fill up in Ballina for under €1 per litre. According to Pumps.ie, a website that monitors the price of fuel accross Ireland with input from consumers, the Gala station on the Foxford Road, Ballina, is the cheapest outlet in the country, where diesel now retails for 99.9c per litre.
Eight more of the 20 cheapest stations for diesel are located in Mayo: Applegreen in Crossmolina and Foxford (103.8c), an independent station on the Killala Road in Ballina plus Top, Pound Road, Ballina (104.9c), and an independent on the Ballyhaunis Road, Claremorris, along with Top stations at Abbey Street and the Sligo Road, Ballina, and Excol, Dillon Terrace, Ballina (105.9c).
Petrol is good value in Mayo too, especially in the north of the county. Six of the 20 cheapest retailers are situated in Mayo, and they are: Applegreen in Crossmolina, Foxford (120.8c each) and Kiltimagh Road, Swinford (120.9c), along with Gala, Foxford Road, Ballina, Top, Pound Road, Ballina, and an independent outlet at the Killala Road, Ballina (120.9c).
The good news for motorists is that prices are expected to stay low too. David Blevings, spokesperson for the Irish Petrol Retailers Association (IPRA), said: “Oil prices are under pressure following the negative US stock report which showed a surprise rise in US crude production, a drop in demand and another record high for oil stocks. This is good news for consumers and will result in lower fuel costs at the pumps. Prices have already fallen by over 30% or c. 50cpl since the end of 2013 and we are now seeing the market reacting to what Goldman Sachs have been saying for some time, [that] prices will be 'lower for longer'.”
How much lower can the retail price go? Not very much, David suggested: “Consumers should remember that over 60% of the pump price goes to the government in duty, carbon, tax and VAT, and the retailer only responds to increases and decreases in the wholesale price.
“The retail margin is very small with vigorous competition, as verified by the National Consumers Agency in their 2008 report which stated that the local retail fuels market is highly price sensitive and competitive, with price changes being passed on swiftly by retailers.”