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Petrol and Diesel Hit Highest UK Prices Since 2022

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UK petrol averages 169.68p and diesel 191.68p a litre as Middle East conflict lifts oil above $100 a barrel, the RAC says.

The average price of petrol and diesel in the UK has climbed to its highest point since 2022, with renewed fighting in the Middle East squeezing household budgets, the RAC said. A litre of unleaded now costs 169.68p, while diesel has reached 191.68p, according to figures from the motoring body.

Those levels return drivers to the costs they faced shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago. The rise is being driven by the war between the United States, Israel and Iran, which has badly disrupted oil production and shipping across the region.

Fuel costs eased in June, when Washington and Tehran signed a framework agreement aimed at halting the fighting. Prices have turned upward again as tensions return and wholesale oil trades back above $100 a barrel.

"There's no end in sight to high pump prices," said Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC. Crude oil forms the base of both petrol and diesel, so costlier wholesale supplies feed straight through to what motorists pay. Demand and the amount of available refining capacity also shape prices at the forecourt.

Analysts estimate that each $10 (£7.44) added to the cost of a barrel translates into roughly 7p more per litre at the pump.

A volatile barrel of Brent

Brent crude, the international pricing benchmark, has swung sharply since the conflict began. Reports of escalation tend to push it higher, while signs of a settlement send it lower.

The barrel price sat near $70 before hostilities started. It surged past $120 at the height of the fighting, then dropped back toward $70 in early July after the framework deal was reached. When the peace negotiations broke down, it rose above $100 again. A brief decline followed, but a fresh flare-up has lifted it back over the $100 mark.

The turnaround at the pumps has been rapid. As recently as July, petrol averaged 150.59p a litre and diesel 164.52p. Both have since jumped.

Diesel, at 191.68p, is now edging toward its all-time high of 199.05p, set in June 2022. Petrol at 169.68p still sits under its own record of 191.5p, reached during the summer of that year.

Williams put the impact in everyday terms. Filling a 55-litre family car with unleaded, he said, now costs more than £93, while a diesel tank tops £105.

Duty freeze and gouging claims

Because moving oil around the world takes time, shifts in wholesale markets typically take about two weeks to reach forecourt price boards.

Fuel retailers have rejected suggestions that they exploited the crisis to inflate margins. The markets regulator backed that up, saying it had "not seen evidence of retailers actively changing their pricing strategies to take advantage of the crisis." Drivers who want to shop around can use Fuel Finder, a government-backed tool that compares prices at filling stations nationwide.

The cost of fuel has also shaped tax policy. In May, then Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced that a 5p rise in fuel duty scheduled for September would be pushed back to the end of December, citing the conflict. The RAC argues there is "a very strong case" for holding duty at its current level for the rest of this Parliament.

For now, with crude above $100 and the situation in the Middle East unsettled, drivers face little immediate relief at the pumps.

petrol prices, diesel prices, RAC fuel, oil price, Brent crude, fuel duty, pump prices UK, Iran conflict oil

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