MOTORISTS in Cheshire are paying virtually the same for petrol as they did a month ago, according to the Fuel-Cards.co.uk Regional Fuel Price Report.

Drivers who buy diesel are also paying virtually the same for their fuel.

At the weekend, unleaded petrol cost an average of 76.20 pence per litre across Cheshire, a rise of 0.07p since October 7. Diesel is now an average of 77.72 pence per litre across the county, a rise of 0.05p.

Teresa Maynard of Castle Fuel Cards, who produced the price report, said that the outlook for UK petrol prices remains uncertain.

'Pump prices have not moved much in most of Britain, despite last month's tax increase. World oil stocks are currently higher than expected and this is helping to keep petrol prices down, although motorists are likely to see them rise again as colder weather and OPEC production cuts come into play over the next few weeks.'

The cheapest place to buy petrol in Cheshire is currently Hooton, where the average price of unleaded petrol is 72.4 pence per litre.

The most expensive is currently Broxton, where petrol is an average of 81.9 pence per litre.

Motorists in Cheshire typically pay less than drivers in the rest of the UK for petrol. They also pay less than the rest of the country for diesel.

Across the UK as a whole, unleaded petrol prices have risen by 0.1 pence per litre since early October and diesel prices by 0.3 pence per litre.

The Fuel-Cards.co.uk Regional Price Report is issued by Castle Fuel Cards, whose fuel purchasing cards are used by small and medium-sized business to help control the cost of fuelling company cars and vans.

The prices in the report are average pump prices collected electronically from 12,000 forecourts across the UK.