UK diesel hits record 199.18p, says RAC: today's price and where it is cheapest
Diesel has passed its 2022 peak on the RAC's daily average, at 199.18p a litre on 28 September. The government's official weekly series has not caught up yet: 195.53p on 21 September, against a record of 199.22p. We checked this morning's prices at 2,357 forecourts: the median is 199.9p, but the cheapest sell at 185.7p, and filling a 55-litre tank there instead of at a motorway service area saves £18.81.
Is it really a record? It depends on the series
Two trusted measures of the UK diesel price exist, and on 28 September they do not agree on whether the 2022 peak has fallen.
The RAC announced the new high on Monday morning. On its figures, a litre of diesel costs 56.8p more than on 28 February, when it was 142.38p, a rise of 39.9% since the conflict in the Middle East began. Filling a 55-litre family car now costs almost £110, the motoring organisation says. Unleaded averages 174.13p.
The government's own series is measured differently: one price a week, taken on Monday and published on Tuesday morning. It has been climbing fast. It rose 2.87p in the week to 7 September, 4.36p to 14 September and 4.81p to 21 September. Another rise of that size would put it past 199.22p, but that is not confirmed until the figure is published.
Our own number is different again. The median of the 2,357 forecourts we track stood at 199.9p this morning, because more than one in five of them (523) price diesel at exactly 199.9p. A median is the middle price, not an average, and our feeds do not include Tesco or Sainsbury's, so it is a guide to what you will see on the boards rather than a third national average.
| Measure | Latest | Date | Record | Set on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAC daily average | 199.18p | 28 Sep 2026 | 199.18p | 28 Sep 2026 (was 199.09p, 25 Jun 2022) |
| DESNZ weekly (official) | 195.53p | 21 Sep 2026 | 199.22p | Week of 4 Jul 2022 |
| Fuel Radar median | 199.9p | 28 Sep 2026, 10:30 | — | Series started 22 Sep 2026 |
RAC figures from its press releases of 25 and 28 September 2026. DESNZ figures from the weekly road fuel prices table, release of 22 September 2026. Fuel Radar median: 2,357 forecourts reporting a diesel price on 28 September 2026 at 10:30.
Diesel prices today: what the boards say
This morning's snapshot of 2,357 forecourts selling diesel, and how the median has moved over the past week.
median diesel price, with 968 forecourts (41%) at £2.00 a litre or more
or less at the cheapest tenth of forecourts
between the cheapest (185.7p) and the dearest (219.9p) diesel we track
gap between diesel and unleaded, whose median is 173.9p
| Day | Median | Cheapest tenth |
|---|---|---|
| Tue 22 Sep | 197.9p | 192.9p |
| Wed 23 Sep | 198.9p | 193.7p |
| Thu 24 Sep | 199.9p | 193.9p |
| Fri 25 Sep | 199.9p | 194.7p |
| Sat 26 Sep | 199.9p | 194.9p |
| Sun 27 Sep | 199.9p | 194.9p |
| Mon 28 Sep, 10:30 | 199.9p | 195.7p |
The median has sat at 199.9p since Thursday: many forecourts appear to be holding just below the £2 mark. The movement is at the cheap end. The price below which the cheapest tenth of forecourts sell has risen from 192.9p to 195.7p in a week, so the bargains are getting harder to find.
The dearest diesel we track, 219.9p, is at BP-branded motorway service areas, including Birch on the M62, Burton on the M6 and Exeter on the M5. The full list, cheapest first, is on our diesel price page; the same figures for petrol are on the unleaded page.
Daily snapshot saved by this site from retailers' open price feeds. Each price carries the retailer's own update time; check the pump before filling up.
Where diesel is cheapest: regions, towns and brands
Most regions share the same 199.9p median. The differences show up town by town and, above all, brand by brand.
| Region | Forecourts | Median | Cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 10 | 192.7p | 186.7p |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 225 | 197.9p | 186.7p |
| Scotland | 237 | 199.9p | 185.7p |
| North West | 295 | 199.9p | 185.7p |
| London | 250 | 199.9p | 185.7p |
| South West | 253 | 199.9p | 186.7p |
| East Midlands | 175 | 199.9p | 186.7p |
| North East | 100 | 199.9p | 190.7p |
| West Midlands | 233 | 199.9p | 192.7p |
| Wales | 131 | 199.9p | 192.7p |
| East of England | 144 | 201.9p | 190.7p |
| South East | 285 | 201.9p | 193.7p |
Among the larger towns, Liverpool has the lowest median at 195.9p, followed by Bradford (196.9p). Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol and Edinburgh sit at 197.9p. Glasgow, Birmingham and Cardiff are at the national 199.9p, while Hull (200.9p) and Aberdeen (201.9p) are above it.
The spread inside a single town matters more than the town you live in. Edinburgh has the cheapest diesel we track, 185.7p at Asda on New Mart Road, while its dearest forecourts charge 202.9p. In Sheffield the cheapest is 188.7p against a median of 198.9p; in Reading almost nothing is cheap, with the lowest price at 198.9p.
By brand, the two supermarkets in our feeds are the cheapest: Morrisons has a median of 197.9p across 340 forecourts and Asda 198.9p across 790, with every one of the 30 cheapest diesel prices we track. Esso sits at 201.9p, BP and Shell at 202.9p. That matches what the Competition and Markets Authority found in its August report: "Non-supermarket retailers also remain consistently more expensive relative to supermarkets."
Medians of this site on 28 September 2026 at 10:30. Town figures cover the forecourts in our feeds within each town; the full ranking is on the towns page and the brand comparison.
What 55 litres of diesel costs today, and how to pay less
A penny a litre is 55p on a family car's tank. Here is today's fill-up at different points of the price range.
| Where you fill up | Price | 55 litres | vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest we track (Asda: Edinburgh, Leigh, Watford) | 185.7p | £102.14 | −£7.81 |
| Cheapest tenth of forecourts | 195.7p | £107.64 | −£2.31 |
| Supermarket median (Asda, Morrisons) | 198.9p | £109.40 | −£0.55 |
| National median | 199.9p | £109.95 | — |
| Esso median | 201.9p | £111.05 | +£1.10 |
| BP median | 202.9p | £111.60 | +£1.65 |
| Dearest we track (motorway services) | 219.9p | £120.95 | +£11.00 |
Our calculation: price × 55 litres, rounded to the penny, at the medians and prices of 28 September 2026, 10:30.
1Search your town or postcode
The search box at the top of every page takes a town, region, brand or postcode district. The Near me button lists the twelve closest forecourts within 30 km, sorted by price; your location stays on your phone.
2Compare inside your own town
Open your town from the towns list. Forecourts are sorted by diesel price with each retailer's update time. In Edinburgh today the gap between cheapest and dearest is 17.2p, or £9.46 on 55 litres.
3Start with the supermarkets
Every one of the 30 cheapest diesel prices we track this morning is at an Asda forecourt. The supermarket page ranks all 1,130 Asda and Morrisons sites in our feeds, and the cheapest forecourts page lists the 60 lowest prices in the country.
4Fill up before the motorway
Motorway service areas top our list at 219.9p. Filling there rather than at the cheapest supermarket costs £18.81 more for 55 litres.
5Check the time stamp, then the pump
Prices change quickly when the market is moving. Since the statutory Fuel Finder scheme started, every forecourt in the UK must report a price change within 30 minutes; the government lists apps and sites that show that data, including Confused.com, Fuel Spy, MoneySuperMarket, RAC Fuel Watch and PetrolPrices.com. The price on the pump is the one you pay.
Where the money goes: tax, product and margin in a litre
Fuel duty has not moved: 52.95p a litre since March 2022, plus 20% VAT. The whole rise since February is in the price of the fuel itself, and the VAT charged on it.
| Official price | Pump price | Fuel duty | VAT 20% | Fuel, costs, margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diesel, 23 Feb 2026 | 141.46p | 52.95p | 23.58p | 64.93p |
| Diesel, 21 Sep 2026 | 195.53p | 52.95p | 32.59p | 109.99p |
| Unleaded, 21 Sep 2026 | 172.01p | 52.95p | 28.67p | 90.39p |
Our calculation from the DESNZ weekly road fuel prices table, which gives pump prices, the duty rate (52.95p a litre) and the VAT rate (20%) for each week. VAT is one sixth of the pump price. The last column is what is left: the refined fuel, delivery, and the retailer's costs and margin.
On the official figures, diesel has risen 54.07p a litre since 23 February, the last reading before the conflict. Of that, 45.06p is in the price of the fuel and the supply chain, and 9.01p is extra VAT, which grows with the price. Duty is a fixed amount per litre and has stayed the same.
Diesel and unleaded pay exactly the same duty. The 23.52p gap between them on 21 September is almost all upstream: 19.60p before tax, plus the VAT on that difference. Europe buys much of its diesel ready-refined on world markets, and the crisis has made those cargoes scarcer and dearer, as we explain in What sets the price on your forecourt.
The CMA, which monitors the market, said in August that high wholesale prices "explained most of the increases in pump prices" in the spring. It also found that when wholesale diesel costs fell in May and June, retailers' diesel spreads stayed above their pre-conflict level until the end of June, which suggests cuts were passed on more slowly. It found no evidence that retailers changed their pricing strategies to take advantage of the crisis, and says it will publish a closer look at pass-through in its autumn report.
- Monday 23 February 2026Official weekly price: diesel 141.46p, unleaded 131.71p. The conflict in the Middle East starts at the end of the month.
- Monday 13 April 2026Spring peak for diesel on the official series: 192.14p.
- Friday 1 May 2026The CMA's interim voluntary open-data scheme closes, and the CMA starts prioritising enforcement of the statutory Fuel Finder scheme.
- Monday 13 July 2026Summer low: 164.52p on the official series.
- Tuesday 18 August 2026The CMA publishes its enhanced monitoring report on the impact of the conflict on prices and margins.
- Monday 21 September 2026Official weekly price 195.53p, up 4.81p in a week and 12.04p in three weeks.
- Friday 25 September 2026RAC average: 198.32p, just short of its 2022 high.
- Monday 28 September 2026RAC average: 199.18p, a new all-time high. Median at the forecourts we track: 199.9p.
- Tuesday 29 September 2026 (due)DESNZ publishes the official price for the week starting 28 September, which will show whether its 199.22p record has also gone.
Keep checking the price
These pages update every hour from the retailers' feeds.
Diesel prices today
National median, cheapest and dearest tenth, and every region on a map
The cheapest forecourts we track
The 60 lowest diesel prices in the UK, cheapest first
Supermarket fuel prices
More than 1,100 Asda and Morrisons forecourts ranked by price
Diesel price in your region
Median and cheapest forecourt in each of the twelve regions
Prices by brand
Each chain's median diesel price against the national median
Diesel prices across Europe
The UK median beside France, Germany, Italy and Portugal
Where these figures come from
Official prices and tax rates from DESNZ, market findings from the CMA, the record from the RAC, and forecourt prices from our own snapshot. Breakdowns and fill-up costs are our calculations.
- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Weekly road fuel prices, CSV 2018 to 2026, release of 22 September 2026 covering the week commencing Monday 21 September; 2003 to 2017 table for the 2022 record – gov.uk
- Competition and Markets Authority, Enhanced road fuel monitoring report: August 2026, 18 August 2026 – gov.uk
- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Fuel Finder for drivers: factsheet – gov.uk; closure of the CMA's interim voluntary scheme on 1 May 2026 – gov.uk
- RAC, "Diesel teeters on brink of all-time high", 25 September 2026 – media.rac.co.uk; "Price of diesel reaches record high", 28 September 2026 – media.rac.co.uk
- Forecourt prices: retailers' open price feeds read by this site every hour, snapshot of 28 September 2026 at 10:30, 2,357 forecourts with a diesel price – how we count
Published
By Fuel Radar newsroom
We read the open price feeds published by UK fuel retailers every hour, and follow the official statistics and regulators' reports that explain why the price on the board moves.
Sources: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, weekly road fuel prices (release of 22 September 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0), CMA enhanced road fuel monitoring report, August 2026, Fuel Finder for drivers factsheet, and the RAC's press releases of 25 September and 28 September 2026. Forecourt prices: medians published on this site from retailers' open price feeds, snapshot of 28 September 2026 at 10:30. Tax breakdowns and fill-up costs are our own calculations. Photo: Gerald England, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. How the medians are worked out: How we count.