UK diesel prices hit record highs due to impact of Iran war

LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The price of diesel at the pump in the United Kingdom has hit record highs due to the US-Israeli war on Iran, the motoring body RAC said in a release on Monday.

As well as hitting motorists' pockets, high diesel costs are adding to logistical and transport costs for a vast array of goods, as the fuel is widely used in industry and agriculture.

The cost of a litre of diesel is now 199.18 pence and the cost of filling up an average family car is now almost £110, £31 more than before the conflict began, Simon Williams, the RAC's head of policy, said in the release.

The price high on Monday eclipsed the previous highest price of 199.09 pence in June 2022, during the acute energy market shock in the aftermath of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"Only a sustained lower oil price — over several weeks, not days — will lead to cheaper prices at the pumps ... the government could take steps to ease the burden on drivers by lowering fuel duty further or reducing VAT," Williams said.

Fuel prices are one of the key drivers of UK inflation, which hit a five-month high in August, adding pressure on consumers who are grappling with a protracted cost-of-living crisis.

UK diesel prices are still lower than in several European markets. RAC data for September 21 showed the UK was tied with Italy for the seventh-highest diesel prices among 15 European countries, with the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Belgium and France ranking above it.

International diesel prices have surged to record highs in recent months due to shrinking global refining capacity and supply disruptions from conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Prices jumped again last week after US President Donald Trump voiced support for a potential ban on US diesel exports, which would leave net importers like the UK and other European nations scrambling for alternatives.

The UK has four working oil refineries with a combined crude processing capacity of 1 million barrels per day, down from 1.27 million bpd across six plants in 2024, as two sites closed last year.

Diesel imports made up nearly 40% of the UK's total imports of oil products in 2025, with the U.S. accounting for 31%, according to the recent Digest of UK Energy Statistics. The UK imports nearly 55% of the diesel it consumes.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen in London; Editing by Paul Simao)