Some UK forecourts change pump prices several times a day

A small number of UK forecourts are moving their unleaded pump prices multiple times a day, rather than setting a single price each morning as most stations do. Official UK government fuel price data covering the 72 hours to 3:02am on 27 August recorded six forecourts changing their unleaded price three times or more within that window.

The most active stations each logged seven price changes across the period. Essar in Bootle (L4 3TL) shifted its unleaded price between 153.9p and 160.9p a litre, a swing of 7p, between 7:32am on 24 August and 11:31pm on 26 August. Essar Sefton St in Liverpool (L8 6UD) moved between 161.9p and 165.9p a litre across the same dates. A BP forecourt in Hull (HU9 5QL) ranged between 163.9p and 167.9p a litre, with its first recorded change at 6:31am on 24 August and its most recent at 10:31pm on 26 August. A further Essar site in Liverpool (L31 2HA) varied between 158.7p and 161.9p a litre over the same period.

For everyday drivers, a swing of several pence per litre adds up quickly. At the widest gap recorded here, 7p a litre, filling a 55-litre family car costs roughly £3.85 more at the expensive end of the range than at the cheapest. Arriving at a station shortly after a price rise means paying noticeably more than a driver who happened to stop an hour earlier.

It is worth noting that large swings within a single station's data can sometimes reflect a reporting error rather than a genuine price change, because forecourts submit prices to the government scheme themselves. The official data does not distinguish between a deliberate price move and a corrected entry. Drivers planning a longer journey would do well to check the live posted price at their intended station before setting off, rather than relying on a figure that may already be out of date.