UK diesel crosses £2 a litre as drivers face record pump prices

Diesel has crossed the £2-a-litre mark on average in the UK for the first time, putting motorists at a new price threshold. According to BBC Business (direct), citing the RAC motoring group, petrol prices are also climbing, reaching an average of 174.71 pence a litre.

The diesel milestone is a national average, rather than a price reported at one filling station. It puts the fuel above £2 for each litre bought, while the petrol figure is equivalent to about £1.75 a litre. Both figures describe the price motorists face at the pump.

A record with no relief in sight

The RAC said the upward movement in fuel prices was continuing, with no indication that the pace was easing. Its warning puts the record diesel figure in context: the threshold has been crossed while prices are still rising, rather than after an increase that the group says has run its course.

The rises were “showing no signs of slowing, heaping more misery onto motorists,” the RAC said.

Petrol's increase means the pressure is not confined to diesel drivers. The BBC report gives an average price for both fuels, but identifies diesel's move above £2 as the first such crossing. It does not describe the petrol figure as a record.

Oil release puts the global response in focus

Separately, G7 nations agreed on Friday to release 100 million barrels of oil in an effort to prevent further price increases. The decision places an international response alongside the record being reported at UK filling stations. The source does not specify when the oil will be released.

In the accompanying BBC video, Business Editor Simon Jack examines rising UK fuel prices and the connection between oil prices around the world and what motorists pay for petrol and diesel. That is the link at the centre of the report: a global oil market on one side and the cost of filling a vehicle on the other.

The release agreement is aimed at heading off more increases; it is not a reported reduction in UK pump prices. The account gives no forecast for how far petrol or diesel prices might move, or when motorists could see any change following the G7 decision.

For drivers, the immediate picture remains a record diesel average and a rising petrol price. The next developments to watch are whether those pump-price increases slow and how the agreed oil release proceeds. The RAC's assessment offers no sign of an easing yet.