Diesel passes £2 a litre for the first time in the government's weekly figures

Diesel has passed £2 a litre in the government's weekly road fuel price figures for the first time. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) put the UK average at 200.04p a litre for the week of 12 October 2026, in figures published on 13 October. That is up from 199.52p the week before and 197.58p the week of 28 September.

The series began in June 2003. Last week's 199.52p had already beaten the previous high of 199.22p, set in the week of 4 July 2022. This week is the first reading above 200p. Petrol averaged 175.28p, up from 174.88p and 173.46p, and is still 16.27p below its July 2022 record of 191.55p.

Our own figure is a different measure

The £2 headline is the government's weekly figure. British Fuel Prices' own daily average is built from the price every UK forecourt reports to the government's Fuel Finder scheme, and it is not over £2 today: on 14 October diesel averaged 199.1p and petrol 174.2p. Our average first reached 200p on 30 September, peaked at 200.3p between 3 and 5 October and has eased since.

The two series use different samples and do not match exactly. On the five Mondays since 14 September they differed by between 0.3p and 2.1p. On our measure diesel is up 9.6p a litre since 10 September, and petrol up 6.2p. A 55-litre tank of diesel costs £5.28 more than it did on 10 September.

What the data shows

• Government weekly figure: diesel 200.04p in the week of 12 October, 199.52p the week before, 197.58p the week of 28 September. Petrol 175.28p, 174.88p and 173.46p.
• Since March: diesel is up 57.89p a litre from 142.15p in the week of 2 March. A 55-litre tank at the weekly average costs £110.02, against £78.18 then: £31.84 more.
• Our daily average, 14 October: diesel 199.1p, petrol 174.2p, across every forecourt with a current price.
• Already over £2 at many pumps: 1,734 of the 6,380 forecourts with a current diesel price, 27%, charge 200p a litre or more.
• By region: diesel averages 200.7p in the South East, 200.6p in London, 200.5p in Scotland and 200.2p in the South West. Northern Ireland is lowest at 191.4p.

Fuel duty

Update, 3 November 2026. Budget 2026 on 28 October cancelled the January and March 2027 rises described below and extended the 5p cut to 30 June 2027. On 1 July 2027 it is due to be reversed with an RPI uprating; the OBR's October 2026 forecast puts duty at 60.59p if that is implemented. See the fuel duty guide.

Fuel duty is 52.95p a litre after a temporary 5p cut that has been in place since March 2022 and is set to run to 31 December 2026. On the rates HMRC has published, duty rises by 3p on 1 January 2027 and by 2p on 1 March 2027, back to 57.95p. With VAT, 3p of duty is 3.6p at the pump and 2p is 2.4p: 6.0p a litre in all, or £3.30 on a 55-litre tank. HMRC says final rates will be confirmed at the Budget.

Drivers can compare diesel prices near them with the postcode checker and the cheapest diesel list at britishfuelprices.co.uk.

How the figures work

The £2 figure and the record are from DESNZ's weekly road fuel prices, whose UK series begins in the week of 9 June 2003. The daily figures are British Fuel Prices' analysis of the Fuel Finder data, which forecourts are legally required to update within 30 minutes of a price change. They are a different measure from the weekly series and are shown separately here.

Notes to editors

• Source. All prices come from the UK government's Fuel Finder scheme, published under the Open Government Licence. Forecourts are legally required to report a price change within 30 minutes.
• Government figures. DESNZ weekly road fuel prices, week commencing 12 October 2026, published 13 October 2026: gov.uk/government/statistics/weekly-road-fuel-prices. UK average pump price of ultra low sulphur diesel, in pence per litre. Earlier weeks and the 2003 to 2017 series are from the same publication. Previous high: 199.22p, week of 4 July 2022; before 2022 the highest weekly reading was 148.04p in April 2012.
• Our daily figures. Simple average across every UK forecourt with a diesel (B7) or unleaded (E10) price reported in the previous 14 days, not weighted by volume, for the end of the day on 14 October 2026. Forecourts that have not reported for more than 14 days are left out. No price is removed from these averages as an outlier. Petrol means E10 unleaded; diesel means standard B7. A tank is 55 litres.
• Count and regions. From British Fuel Prices' daily export of current prices, data as at 14 October 2026: 6,380 forecourts with a current diesel price, a simple average of 199.3p on that basis. Regional averages include motorway services and Costco. A forecourt counts as over £2 if it charges 200.0p or more.
• Fuel duty. HMRC, amended fuel duty rates 2026 to 2027: gov.uk. Unleaded petrol and diesel both 52.95p to 31 December 2026, 55.95p from 1 January 2027 and 57.95p from 1 March 2027. VAT at 20% is charged on the product and the duty. Change since 2 March uses the weekly series (142.15p).
• Data. Today's figures, price history and the charts and downloads page. Chart free to use with credit.
• Credit. Source: British Fuel Prices analysis of official Fuel Finder data (britishfuelprices.co.uk). Online, please link to the page the figure came from.
• 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