UK diesel reaches record 199.18p a litre on RAC measure

The RAC’s average UK diesel price reached a record 199.18p a litre on 28 September, according to figures reported by The Guardian. That exceeds the motoring organisation’s previous peak of 199.09p in June 2022. For drivers, the new high means an average diesel fill-up now costs almost £110, the RAC estimates.

The RAC listed a statement titled ‘Price of diesel reaches record high’ on its media centre on 28 September. Its accessible listing confirms the announcement and date, while The Guardian attributes the precise 199.18p figure to the organisation. The reported average is close to £2 a litre, but it does not mean every forecourt charges the same price.

What the other tracker found

PetrolPrices reported a record of its own on 26 September, putting the UK average at 199.11p a litre. It compared that reading with the RAC’s former 199.09p peak. The two figures come from different trackers and dates; the small difference should not be read as a precise measure of how far the national price moved between their reports.

PetrolPrices said its analysis covered 8,088 verified stations. Its inputs included submissions to the government’s Fuel Finder scheme, prices sent directly to PetrolPrices and data from users of its app. It included prices submitted within the preceding 21 days and excluded stations that were closed. Those choices describe the PetrolPrices sample; they do not establish that its average and the RAC’s are calculated in the same way.

The cost of a fill-up

PetrolPrices estimated that its average diesel price had risen by about 16p a litre since the start of September. On a 60-litre fill, that adds roughly £9.60. Its calculation describes the change over that period for a specified tank size; motorists’ actual bills depend on where and how much they buy.

The RAC gave a longer comparison. According to The Guardian, it put the cost of filling an average family car with diesel at almost £110, about £31 more than at the start of the conflict involving Iran in February. The Guardian also reported an average petrol price of 174.13p a litre, up 41p from the start of the conflict, with a full petrol tank costing nearly £96 on the RAC’s estimate.

Higher diesel bills matter beyond private cars because vans and lorries carry goods and support services. Simon Williams, the RAC’s head of policy, told The Guardian that the record price would hurt drivers and people buying goods or services that rely on those vehicles. He predicted that some increased transport costs would be passed on to consumers; the sources do not measure how much has already reached final prices.

Dr Jonathan Owens, an operations and supply chain expert at the University of Salford, told The Guardian that the pressure could extend to supermarkets, manufacturing, construction, agriculture and online retail. His assessment describes exposure to road freight costs, rather than a measured price increase in each sector. The size and timing of any pass-through remain uncertain.

Market pressure and the next decisions

The Guardian linked the rise in fuel prices to market pressure from the Middle East conflict. It also reported that Donald Trump had rejected an Iranian proposal for a seven-day deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and was seriously considering a US diesel export ban. These developments add uncertainty to fuel markets, but the reporting does not assign a measurable share of the UK pump-price increase to any one of them.

PetrolPrices said the gap between wholesale and retail diesel prices was just below its three-month average. It warned that pump prices could rise further if wholesale costs stayed elevated. That is a conditional assessment, not an established future price. Drivers can compare current local prices through Fuel Finder, a government scheme cited in the reporting.

The RAC has urged the government to consider a larger fuel-duty discount or a VAT reduction, The Guardian reported. The existing 5p-a-litre fuel-duty cut has been extended until the end of the year. Williams said a full reversal of that cut would add another 5p a litre by spring. Whether policy changes, and what drivers eventually pay, remain open questions.