Diesel within a penny of £2 as pump prices climb, new site tracking every UK forecourt shows

The average price of diesel at UK forecourts has risen by 9.8p a litre since 10 September, to 199.3p, according to British Fuel Prices, a new free website that shows the price at every filling station in the country. Petrol has risen by 6.2p over the same period, to 174.2p. Filling a 55-litre tank with diesel now costs £5.39 more than it did 17 days ago.

The figures come from the government's Fuel Finder scheme. Since February, the law has required every UK forecourt to report a price change within 30 minutes. British Fuel Prices reads that data every half hour and turns it into a page for every town, forecourt, brand and region, cheapest first.

Where you fill up matters more than when

• Within one town. In Rugby, unleaded ranges from 164.9p to 199.9p, a 35p gap worth £19.25 on a tank. Northampton (34.2p), Armagh (34.0p) and Gloucester (34.0p) are close behind. In 70 towns the cheapest and dearest forecourts are 20p a litre or more apart.
• Motorways. Motorway services charge 19.5p a litre more for petrol than other forecourts. At 108 of 121 service areas an ordinary forecourt is within 3 miles, and using it saves a typical 26.2p a litre, about £14.41 a tank.
• Brands. Supermarkets are 3.6p a litre cheaper than other forecourts. Among brands with 100 or more sites, Tesco is cheapest at 171.0p and BP dearest at 177.0p, a 6p gap worth £3.30 a tank. Costco's 22 fuel stations average 165.8p.
• Regions. Northern Ireland is the cheapest region at 167.8p. The South East is the dearest at 175.8p.

More to come in the new year

The temporary 5p cut in fuel duty ends in two steps: 3p on 1 January 2027 and 2p on 1 March 2027. With VAT charged on top, that adds 3.6p and then 2.4p at the pump: 6p a litre, or £3.30 a tank, on top of today's prices.

Forecourts that have gone quiet

210 forecourts have not reported a price for more than 14 days, despite the 30-minute rule. British Fuel Prices leaves them out of every average and flags them on their pages, so a driver is not sent to a price that may no longer exist.

Sam Allcock, editor of British Fuel Prices, said: "Prices have gone up for two weeks running, but the biggest saving is still in where you fill up. In 70 towns the cheapest and dearest forecourts are 20p a litre or more apart, and a lot of drivers never find that out. Every figure we publish comes straight from the government's own data, and anyone can download it and check our sums."

The site is free and needs no sign-up. Drivers can search by postcode or town.

Notes to editors

• Source. All prices come from the UK government's Fuel Finder scheme, published under the Open Government Licence. Prices are as reported by retailers.
• Averages are simple averages across forecourts reporting a current price, not weighted by volume sold, so they differ slightly from RAC and AA figures. Petrol means E10 unleaded; diesel means standard B7. A tank is 55 litres.
• Dates. Prices as last checked on 27 September 2026. The daily UK averages start on 10 September 2026, the first day British Fuel Prices recorded them. The government service shows only current prices, so there is no official daily history before then.
• Exclusions. Forecourts that have not reported for more than 14 days are left out of every average. A price more than 15p under its own town's average is held out of "cheapest" lists as a likely error until confirmed.
• Distances between motorway services and nearby forecourts are straight lines.
• Duty rates are from HMRC's published fuel duty rates for 2026 to 2027.
• About British Fuel Prices. An independent site published by Domain Farm Ltd (company number 13544286). No fuel retailer pays for or sees its figures before publication.
• Contact: Sam Allcock, editor, editor@britishfuelprices.co.uk

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