UK diesel crosses £2 a litre as a family-car fill reaches £110

Filling an average family car with diesel now costs £110 in the UK, almost £32 more than at the start of the US-Iran war, according to the RAC motoring group. For drivers, that puts a stark cash figure on a new milestone: average diesel prices have crossed £2 a litre for the first time, BBC Business (direct) reported.

The RAC put the national diesel average at 200.01p a litre, while petrol reached 174.71p. A typical petrol-car fill now costs £96.09, up £23.03 since February. The group said increases were continuing without any sign of easing. Its policy head, Simon Williams, warned that the pressure reaches well beyond individual motorists, taking in commuters, delivery companies, road freight operators, businesses running large vehicle fleets and sole traders.

“This will be very challenging for households and companies that drive a lot of miles,” said RAC policy head Simon Williams.

Higher costs, from fields to driving lessons

For Mark Means, who has farmed in Norfolk for more than 50 years, the challenge is both securing diesel and paying for it. He has spent £50,000 on new storage tanks to help ensure fuel is available for harvesting and planting. Yet higher diesel prices are reducing the money left over from his work. He told BBC Business he was deeply frightened by the rising costs.

In Leicester, driving instructor Steven Tompkins said more expensive fuel was forcing instructors to raise lesson prices. That creates another burden for young people working part time and managing tight budgets. The effects also reach people who do not own a diesel vehicle: higher delivery bills and more expensive food production can pass the pressure further through the economy.

A supply squeeze meets an international response

The source of that pressure stretches far beyond UK filling stations. Over the past seven months, the Iran war has severely disrupted both the production and movement of oil and refined fuels from the region, lifting prices worldwide. Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries have added to the constraints on global diesel supplies. China has also limited exports of refined fuels, products made by processing crude oil.

At an urgent meeting on Friday, G7 nations agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil to help contain further price rises. They also agreed not to restrict exports to one another. That followed a threat by US President Donald Trump to stop American diesel shipments overseas. Such a ban would have raised global diesel prices while easing pressure on US consumers ahead of November’s midterm elections, according to the report.

UK ministers sought to reassure fuel users on Friday. A government spokesperson said supplies came from varied sources and remained resilient, adding that officials were working with international partners and the UK fuel industry. The government said there was no reason to fear diesel shortages. More than half the diesel bought in Britain is imported; the US accounts for less than a third of those imports, or about 17% of total UK supply.

The next test is whether the agreed oil release and commitment to keep exports moving ease the pressure at the pump. For farmers, instructors and transport businesses, the immediate challenge remains covering higher fuel bills without placing still more strain on customers.