Petrol and diesel at highest price in four years in Britain
Key Points
- Diesel averaged 192.5p a litre in September, the highest since July 2022
- Petrol rose 8.2p a litre to 169.5p, the highest since August 2022
- Motor fuel prices are up 29.8% over the past year
- Fuel pushed UK CPI inflation up to 3.5% from 3.1%
- Kerosene prices for oil-heated homes rose 22.7% over the year
Diesel cost an average of 192.5p a litre in September, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
That marked a 10.7p rise in a single month and the highest diesel price since July 2022. Petrol climbed 8.2p a litre over the same period to an average of 169.5p, its highest level since August 2022.
A year earlier, petrol and diesel prices both fell slightly between August and September. Overall motor fuel prices rose 29.8% in the 12 months to September, up from 23% in August.
Fuel made the largest upward contribution to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), which rose 3.5% in the 12 months to September, up from 3.1% in August. That is the highest CPI rate since October 2025.
Transport prices as a whole rose 6.6% over the year, up from 4.6% the previous month.
Kerosene prices, which hit households that heat their homes with oil, rose 22.7% over the year after falling 1.4% a year earlier. Fuel and kerosene pushed goods inflation to 3.2%, its highest rate since September 2023. Core inflation, which strips out energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, rose to 2.8% from 2.6%.
“Much of the upward pressure has come from transport costs, particularly motor fuels, with petrol and diesel prices rising sharply in recent months and hitting consumers and businesses alike,” said Richard Carter, Head of Fixed Interest Research at Quilter Cheviot.
“The longer the conflict in the Middle East persists, the greater the risk that higher energy costs seep into other areas of the economy,” Carter said.
“The Bank of England expects inflation to move slightly above 4% in early 2027, and that backdrop is not particularly conducive to any easing of interest rates,” he added.
Carter said the latest figures would strengthen the case of Monetary Policy Committee members who believe the Bank may need higher rates to stop the energy shock spreading into wider prices and wages. The ONS will publish its next set of inflation figures on 18 November.
