Autodiesel clearances were 2.1% lower in January to March 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. They were 2.6% lower when comparing the 12-month rolling period of April 2025-March 2026 with April 2024-March 2025 (See Table A).
Unleaded Petrol clearances were 7.2% higher in January to March 2026 compared with January to March 2025. In the 12-month rolling period of April 2025-March 2026 compared with April 2024-March 2025 they were 6.9% higher (See Table A).
Kerosene clearances were 0.7% higher when comparing the 12-month rolling period of April 2025-March 2026 with April 2024-March 2025 (See Table A).
Marked Gas Oil clearances decreased by 3.0% in the first three months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025 (See Table A).
An annual Fuel Excise Clearances PxStat Table has been added to this statistical release, see FPA01.
The data used in this release mainly relate to the Revenue Commissioners monthly excise clearance volumes. The use of transport fuels such as Autodiesel and Unleaded Petrol are less seasonal than the use of home heating fuels. Price changes and exceptional weather can cause variations in the trends of excise clearances of home heating oils between years. Changes in the vehicle fleet fuel type composition can affect the mix in clearances of road fuels. See the Background Notes for the full definition of fuel excise clearances.
There was a 2.6% decrease in Autodiesel excise clearances when comparing the 12-month rolling period of April 2025-March 2026 with April 2024-March 2025. Marked Gas Oil decreased by 0.6% over the same period. In the first quarter of 2026, Unleaded Petrol clearances increased by 7.2%. Kerosene clearances also increased (1.3%) over this period (See Table A).
| Table A: Excise Clearances Percentage Changes for Selected Fuels March 2026 | ||
| Fuel | Year-to-Date January-March 2026/2025 | 12-Month Rolling Period April-March 2026/2025 |
| Autodiesel | -2.1% | -2.6% |
| Unleaded Petrol | 7.2% | 6.9% |
| Marked Gas Oil | -3.0% | -0.6% |
| Kerosene | 1.3% | 0.7% |
Excise clearances of Unleaded Petrol in January to March 2026 were 7.2% higher than in January to March 2025. Unleaded Petrol clearances for the first three months of 2026 at 274 million litres were the highest for the first quarter of the year since 2017.
In contrast, Autodiesel clearances for the first quarter of 2026 at 808 million litres were the lowest for the January to March period since 2021.
Marked Gas Oil clearances were 0.6% lower when comparing the 12-month rolling period of April 2025-March 2026 with April 2024-March 2025. Kerosene clearances for March 2026 were the lowest clearances for March since 2012.
In 2025 Autodiesel excise clearances were 3.4 billion litres which was 71.0% higher than the 2000 Autodiesel clearances figure of 2 billion litres. In 2025 Unleaded Petrol excise clearances were 1.1 billion litres which was 42.5% lower than the 2000 Unleaded Petrol clearances figure of 2 billion litres (See Figure 2 and Table 2).
Figure 3 (See below) shows trends in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for selected fuels. Wholesale prices of Autodiesel, Petrol and Gas oil (other than Autodiesel) were notably higher in March than last month. This Wholesale Price Index series is compiled to base 2021=100.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (08 June 2026) published Fuel Excise Clearances March 2026.
Commenting on the release, Dr. Robert Stapleton, Statistician in the Climate and Energy Division, said: "Autodiesel clearances were 2.6% lower when comparing the 12-month rolling period of April 2025-March 2026 with April 2024-March 2025. This equates to 3.39 billion litres of Autodiesel clearances in the 12 months to March 2026. Marked gas oil clearances were down 0.6% over the same period and down 3% in the first three months of the year (See Table A). Clearances are the duty paid on the quantity of oil removed from bonded warehouses and provide a proxy for sales (See Editor’s Note below).
In January to March 2026 Unleaded Petrol clearances increased by 7.2% compared with the same period in 2025. Unleaded Petrol clearances have risen by 6.9% when comparing the 12-month rolling period of April 2025-March 2026 with April 2024-March 2025. This equates to 1.14 billion litres of Unleaded Petrol clearances in the 12 months to March 2026.
Kerosene excise clearances were 0.7% higher when comparing the 12-month rolling period of April 2025-March 2026 with April 2024-March 2025 (See Table A). Kerosene is mainly used as a home heating fuel."