What is the best day of the week to buy fuel?

We record every price change at every UK forecourt. That is 1,099,536 changes since February 2026, so this answer is based on real data. In the last 90 days, the national average petrol price was lowest on a Wednesday and highest on a Sunday. But the gap between the best and worst day is usually less than a penny a litre. That is under 50p on a full tank.

Why the day of the week hardly matters

Some countries have a weekly price cycle. The UK does not. Pump prices follow the wholesale price with a delay of a few days. Most forecourts change their price once or twice a week, whenever head office sends a new one. So in a week when prices are rising, the end of the week costs more. In a week when they are falling, the end of the week is cheaper. The day itself is not the cause. Supermarkets tend to change prices on Thursdays and Fridays. The big oil brands change theirs on any day.

What does matter

Which forecourt you use. In a typical town, the gap between the cheapest and most expensive forecourt is 8p to 10p a litre. Across the whole country today it is –. That is £4 to £5 on a fill, which is about ten times the day-of-the-week effect. Timing helps in one way: when prices are falling, the cheapest forecourts drop first, and when prices are rising, the most expensive ones go up first. A price-drop alert tells you when that happens near you.

The best day in your town

Every town page shows the cheapest day of the week for that town over the last 90 days, worked out from its own forecourts. Find your town.