Finnish driver travels 300 km to Sweden for cheaper fuel

A Finnish motorist drove 300 kilometres from Taivalkoski to Haparanda in Sweden on Saturday to fill up, drawn by a 60-cent-per-litre price gap for petrol, Yle reports.

Veikko Hanhela told Yle he likely lost money on the trip despite the savings, but combined it with other shopping. In Tornio, 95-octane petrol cost about €1.90 per litre on Saturday, while across the border in Haparanda it was roughly 60 cents cheaper. Diesel was about 44 cents per litre less in Sweden.

Queues of up to 15 minutes formed at Swedish pumps near the border. Sweden cut fuel taxes on 1 July, reducing pump prices by nearly 30 cents per litre. The measure, making Swedish fuel among Europe’s cheapest this summer and autumn, runs until the end of September.