2011 at Irish pumpsPetrol passes €1.50 for the first time.

Over the course of 2011 petrol cost €1.482 a litre on average at Irish pumps and diesel €1.413, on the Commission's weekly readings. Petrol's December reading came in 18.7 cent higher than January's. The averages for 2010 make a useful yardstick: petrol is +18.1 cent against them, diesel +19.3 cent.

Petrol's weekly readings spanned €1.317 to €1.532 in 2011; the high fell on 30 May, the low on 3 Jan. The annual averages put diesel 6.9 cent a litre cheaper than petrol. Tax, at the rates in force each week, accounted for 57.7% of the average petrol price over the year, about 85.5 cent a litre. Tractor and boiler fuel, marked gas oil, cost €1.011 on average; its cheapest week was €0.927 and its dearest €1.077.

Petrol was at its monthly cheapest in January, €1.347 on average, and at its monthly dearest in June, €1.532.

Counting the Monday-to-Monday changes, petrol climbed 7 times against 3 declines, with 39 flat weeks.

The Commission's EU-wide petrol average for the year was €1.493, putting Irish petrol 1.1 cent lower on it.

2011 saw the duty on petrol and diesel revised once: on 7 Dec the rates became €587.71 (petrol) and €479.02 (diesel) per 1,000 litres.

On 7 December 2011 the carbon tax rose from €15 to €20 a tonne, taking the carbon component on petrol to 45.87 euro per 1,000 litres.

Turn back to the 2010 record or forward to 2012 at the pumps.

Other years, with their averages, are listed on Irish fuel price history.