Consumer Council recommends filling the tank on Thursdays

Tank. photo: pixabay.com

Many Norwegians know that it is cheaper to refuel as Sunday turns to Monday, but Thursday mornings have become a drivers’ blind spot, according to the Consumer Council.

The organization wants as many as possible at the pumps to create competition that could shift prices.

‘We therefore recommend that people be conscious of when prices are lowest.’

A new survey by the Consumer Council showed that just about everybody knows that prices of fuel rise and fall throughout the week.

Up to 60% know that it is cheaper during the transition from Sunday to Monday, while only 10% of those surveyed answered that that there are also lower prices on Thursday.

‘Prices of petrol and diesel fluctuate in a regular pattern throughout the week. But variations between service stations are still remarkably small’, said Gunstein Instefjord, Director of Commerce at the Consumer Council.

‘This suggests that consumer power should turn harder to gain traction. It is worth knowing when prices are cheapest, and we must take advantage of it. Only then will the real competition begin that can actually affect the prices’, said Instefjord.

He said prices are lowest on Monday mornings and Thursday mornings, but the prices rise quickly after their low points on both days. The Competition Authority has also noted the trend.

‘If you fill-up on Sunday evening or Monday morning, it’s good for your wallet and for competition. If you must refuel before the weekend, you should do so before the week’s other price peak; fill up on Thursday morning’, said senior adviser, Sigurd Birkeland, of the Norwegian Competition Authority.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today