UK petrol & diesel prices today
The current national average price for unleaded petrol in the UK is 159.4p per litre. Diesel stands at 183.9p per litre. These figures are calculated from prices reported by thousands of stations across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and are refreshed daily from live forecourt data.
All fuel types: current prices
| Fuel type | National avg | vs last week | vs last month |
|---|---|---|---|
Unleaded petrol (E10) |
159.4p | → +0.0p | ↑ +2.3p |
Diesel |
183.9p | ↓ -1.2p | ↓ -4.8p |
Super unleaded (98 RON) |
176.4p | n/a | n/a |
Premium diesel |
204.1p | n/a | n/a |
National averages calculated from live station data. Week and month comparisons use the closest available date.
The 30-day trend
What makes up the pump price
The price you pay at the forecourt has four main components. Fuel duty is levied at a flat 52.95p per litre on both petrol and diesel, a fixed charge set by HMRC regardless of the wholesale cost of oil. VAT at 20% is then applied to the total including duty, which means as wholesale prices rise, the Treasury's share of each litre also rises automatically. Together, duty and VAT account for roughly 55–60% of what most drivers pay, depending on current market prices.
The remaining 40–45% covers the wholesale cost of refined fuel (which tracks crude oil prices and refinery margins), plus the retailer's margin. Retailer margins vary significantly between forecourt operators. Supermarket forecourts typically run on margins of 1–3p per litre; motorway services and remote rural stations often achieve 10–18p or more per litre, reflecting lower competition and captive demand.
Crude oil is priced internationally in US dollars, which means sterling's exchange rate against the dollar also affects UK pump prices. A weaker pound raises the cost of oil imports even when the dollar price of crude is unchanged. This currency effect is one reason UK prices can move without any underlying change in oil markets.
How quickly oil prices reach the pump
Changes in the crude oil price do not appear at the forecourt instantly. Between a barrel of crude oil being priced on the international market and that oil becoming pump-ready fuel in a UK forecourt, several weeks of refining, blending, quality testing and physical distribution typically intervene. In practice, a significant move in crude oil prices (say, a 5% rise) tends to show up at UK pumps within two to four weeks, depending on existing stock levels in the supply chain.
The transmission is also asymmetric. Studies by the UK Competition and Markets Authority have found that when oil prices rise, forecourt prices tend to follow relatively quickly. When oil prices fall, the pass-through to consumers is slower, and the full benefit often takes longer to materialise at the pump. This "rockets and feathers" pattern has been documented repeatedly in the UK fuel market and is one reason drivers often feel prices go up faster than they come down.
If the week-on-week change is negative (prices falling), filling up sooner rather than later may save a small amount. If prices are rising, topping up before a further increase can be worth it. But the difference over a typical 50-litre fill is rarely more than £2–3 either way. The bigger saving is choosing the right station, not the right day.