NI fuel prices ease slightly but diesel still averages 191.6p a litre
Consumer Council figures for 15 October show average NI petrol at 166.6p and diesel at 191.6p a litre, with large differences between towns.
Northern Ireland fuel prices have edged lower in the latest weekly Consumer Council figures, but diesel remains a major cost for motorists. Data for Thursday 15 October 2026 puts average petrol at 166.6 pence per litre and diesel at 191.6 pence. That is a modest improvement on the previous week, not a return to the much lower prices seen earlier in the year.
The headline average is only part of the story. The latest town-level figures show that a driver buying the same fuel can face noticeably different pump prices depending on where they fill up. For drivers covering long distances across Northern Ireland, shopping around when practical may matter more than the small weekly national movement.
How much have prices changed in a week?
The Consumer Council archive lists average Northern Ireland prices on 8 October at 167.1p for petrol and 193.3p for diesel. On 15 October they are 166.6p and 191.6p respectively. That means average petrol has fallen 0.5p per litre and diesel has fallen 1.7p per litre over the week.
For a 50-litre fill, the weekly reduction in the average price amounts to roughly 25p for petrol and 85p for diesel. These are arithmetic comparisons of the published weekly averages, not promises that any individual station reduced its prices by the same amount.
The difference between Northern Ireland towns
The Council’s October 15 town table records Bangor at an average 163.4p for petrol, while Magherafelt averages 169.2p. That is a gap of 5.8p per litre, equivalent to £2.90 on 50 litres. Other towns sit between these levels, and the prices advertised by individual sites can be above or below a town average.
Diesel shows a similarly important geographical spread. Bangor and Dungannon both average 188.4p, compared with 195.3p in Enniskillen. On a 50-litre purchase, the 6.9p-per-litre difference equates to £3.45. These are observations within the Consumer Council's listed towns, not a definitive ranking of every filling station in Northern Ireland.
Why a town average is not the station price
Consumer Council data aggregates reported pump prices. A town average should not be interpreted as a guaranteed offer at a particular forecourt. The lowest price observed within one town can be materially below its average, and a cheap station may not be convenient enough to justify a detour.
The 15 October table, for example, shows a petrol range from 159.9p to 166.9p among the Bangor stations represented, whereas the Belfast data spans 161.9p to 168.9p. Availability and reporting coverage vary, so motorists should compare the actual advertised price before filling up.
What does this mean for a typical fill?
At the Northern Ireland averages, 50 litres of petrol costs £83.30, while the same volume of diesel costs £95.80. The £12.50 gap is noticeable, although a fair comparison of vehicle running costs also depends on miles per gallon, annual mileage, maintenance, insurance and the purchase price of the car.
The averages themselves should not be used to calculate a vehicle's true annual budget without accounting for how often it is driven. Someone covering a high weekly mileage may be more affected by a small fuel-price change than a low-mileage city driver.
How NI drivers can respond
If there is a choice of stations on a journey already being made, compare current pump prices rather than assuming the biggest chain or nearest forecourt is cheapest. Avoid travelling substantial extra distances simply to save a few pence per litre; the fuel and time used getting there can cancel the saving.
PureCar recommends treating this release as a snapshot as at 15 October 2026. Prices move, and the Council’s next update may show a different direction. The actionable news is that the average has eased slightly, while the cost of diesel remains high and the spread between locations is still large.
