Diesel passes £2 a litre for the first time: what it costs in London today and where to fill up cheaper

Diesel in the UK now costs more than £2 a litre for the first time. The RAC recorded an average of 200.01p, above the record set in June 2022 after the start of the war in Ukraine. Our own forecourt data shows the rise has not stopped there.

What does it cost right now?

On the morning of 5 October, across 1,572 forecourts that refreshed their prices in the past three days:

• diesel (B7) — midpoint 201.9p a litre, mean 201.3p;
• petrol (E10) — midpoint 174.9p, mean 175.6p.

In London, 76 forecourts have fresh prices: diesel runs from 195.9p to 203.9p, with the same 201.9p midpoint; petrol from 169.9p to 179.9p. The capital is above the national average, and the spread inside the city is wider than most drivers assume.

Why has it gone up?

This is not about fuel duty or the retailers. It is the world diesel market. Since late February, when the conflict around Iran began, diesel in the UK has risen by 57.6p a litre and petrol by 41.9p. A full tank in an ordinary family car now costs about £110 — some £32 more than in February.

A separate shock is the talk in the United States of restricting diesel exports. The UK imports roughly 55% of the diesel it burns, and about a third of that comes from the US. Any hint of a restriction lifts wholesale prices the same day; on the forecourt it shows up one or two weeks later.

The RAC puts it plainly: this is the threshold nobody wanted to cross, and there is no sign of it easing yet.

Where is it cheaper in London?

On the morning of 5 October the cheapest diesel we can see in the city is 195.9p on Uxbridge Road in Acton (W5), 196.9p on Romford Road (E7), and 197.9p in Plumstead (SE18), Winchmore Hill (N21) and on Baring Road (SE12). The dearest is 203.9p in Chiswick (W4), on Clapham Common (SW4) and on Stamford Hill (N16).

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Eight pence a litre between the cheap pump and the dear one in the same city works out at £4 on a 50-litre tank, or roughly £100 a year for a driver who fills up twice a month. Driving across London for that makes no sense; choosing between two forecourts on your route does.

You can check the prices nearest to you in our service: fuel prices by postcode. The data comes straight from the retailers — Esso, MFG, Moto, SGN and others — and is refreshed every night.

What should you do about it?

If you drive a diesel, count the cost of the journey rather than the price of the litre. A full tank of diesel is now about £13 dearer than the same tank of petrol. That is worth remembering when you change cars: the old logic — diesel costs more at the pump but gives it back in economy — works less well at this kind of gap.

It is also worth checking your heating bills: the same market is pushing energy prices. Related: who gets their gas and electricity debt written off by Ofgem.