UK fuel prices over time
In the week of 26 October 2026, petrol averaged 174.07p a litre across the UK and diesel 199.22p, the government's weekly figures show. Of a litre of petrol, 52.95p is fuel duty and 29.01p is VAT.
Figures for the week of 26 Oct 2026, published 27 Oct 2026. Updated weekly by the government.
This week
174.07p
Petrol (unleaded), UK average a litre, 39.7p up on a year ago (134.40p).
DESNZ weekly road fuel prices, week of 26 October 2026
199.22p
Diesel, UK average a litre, 56.8p up on a year ago (142.38p).
DESNZ weekly road fuel prices, week of 26 October 2026
52.95p
Fuel duty a litre on petrol and diesel, unchanged since 28 March 2022.
DESNZ weekly road fuel prices, week of 26 October 2026
Pump prices since 2018
UK average price a litre each week. Petrol peaked at 191.55p in the week of 4 July 2022; diesel at 200.04p in the week of 12 October 2026.
Source: DESNZ, weekly road fuel prices, 1 January 2018 to 26 October 2026, published 27 October 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0.
Where your money goes
Every litre carries fuel duty, a fixed 52.95p, and VAT at 20%. VAT is charged on the price including duty, so it is one sixth of what you pay at the pump. What is left pays for the fuel itself, getting it to the forecourt, and the refiner's and retailer's margins.
Petrol 174.07p a litre
- Fuel duty
- 52.95p (30%)
- VAT (20%)
- 29.01p (17%)
- Fuel, delivery and margins
- 92.11p (53%)
Diesel 199.22p a litre
- Fuel duty
- 52.95p (27%)
- VAT (20%)
- 33.20p (17%)
- Fuel, delivery and margins
- 113.07p (57%)
Source: DESNZ weekly road fuel prices, week of 26 October 2026 (pump prices, duty rate and VAT rate), published 27 October 2026. VAT worked out by us as 20/120 of the pump price. Open Government Licence v3.0.
Year by year
| Year | Petrol | Diesel | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 125.03p | 130.04p | 53 |
| 2019 | 124.97p | 131.71p | 52 |
| 2020 | 114.09p | 119.46p | 52 |
| 2021 | 131.40p | 135.04p | 52 |
| 2022 | 164.64p | 177.78p | 52 |
| 2023 | 147.65p | 158.12p | 52 |
| 2024 | 141.47p | 148.36p | 53 |
| 2025 | 135.05p | 142.70p | 52 |
| 2026 | 153.18p | 173.65p | 43 |
The last 12 weeks
| Week of | Petrol | Diesel | Duty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 October 2026 | 174.07p | 199.22p | 52.95p |
| 19 October 2026 | 174.57p | 199.33p | 52.95p |
| 12 October 2026 | 175.28p | 200.04p | 52.95p |
| 5 October 2026 | 174.88p | 199.52p | 52.95p |
| 28 September 2026 | 173.46p | 197.58p | 52.95p |
| 21 September 2026 | 172.01p | 195.53p | 52.95p |
| 14 September 2026 | 168.14p | 190.72p | 52.95p |
| 7 September 2026 | 164.40p | 186.36p | 52.95p |
| 31 August 2026 | 161.61p | 183.49p | 52.95p |
| 24 August 2026 | 161.63p | 182.82p | 52.95p |
| 17 August 2026 | 161.80p | 182.45p | 52.95p |
| 10 August 2026 | 162.15p | 181.97p | 52.95p |
These are UK averages. For what stations near you charge today, find the cheapest fuel near a postcode, or compare prices by brand.
Source and method
- Source
- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Weekly road fuel prices (the 2018 to 2026 file), published 27 October 2026.
- Covers
- UK average pump prices for ultra low sulphur unleaded petrol and ultra low sulphur diesel, each week from 1 January 2018 to 26 October 2026, with that week's duty and VAT rates.
- Licence
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Updated
- DESNZ publishes a new week each Tuesday; we add it by hand, so this page can be a week behind.
The prices are DESNZ's own figures, not our station prices: the cheapest stations and averages elsewhere on this site come from the Fuel Finder scheme and can differ from these averages. VAT and the remainder are worked out by us from DESNZ's price, duty rate and VAT rate for the week.
Every dataset we use is listed on our data sources page, with the credit lines on our attribution page.