diesel pricespetrol prices UKfuel market
Why has UK diesel risen twice as fast as petrol since February 2026?
Since the Middle East crisis that began on 28 February 2026, UK pump prices have risen across the board — but not evenly. Petrol is up roughly 25 pence a litre. Diesel is up 48. One fuel has risen nearly twice as fast as the other.
6 min readWayne Austin
fuel pricesfuel dutypetrol prices UK
Why is petrol so expensive in the UK? A full breakdown of where your money goes
You pull onto the forecourt, the pump ticks over to £60, and you drive off wondering how on earth a tank of fuel costs as much as a weekly shop. It's a fair question — and the answer is that the price on the display isn't really one price at all. It's five separate things stacked on top of each other, and only one of them actually pays for the petrol.
7 min readWayne Austin