Diesel hits a record high as searches for cheap fuel quadruple

The average price of diesel in the UK has reached a record high, according to the government’s weekly road fuel price figures published today. In the week of 5 October 2026 diesel averaged 199.52p a litre, beating the previous record of 199.22p set in the week of 4 July 2022.

At the same time, drivers are searching for cheaper fuel as never before. Google’s own keyword data shows UK searches for “petrol prices near me” ran at 110,000 a month in August, four times the 27,100 of August 2025. Searches for “cheap diesel near me” also rose fourfold, from 8,100 to 33,100 a month, and “cheapest petrol near me” from 27,100 to 74,000.

• Diesel has risen 57.4p a litre since the week of 2 March (142.15p). A 55-litre tank now costs £109.74, £31.56 more than at the start of March.
• The steepest climb came in March and April, when diesel rose 50p in six weeks. Search interest in fuel prices peaked then at more than twice its level during the 2022 fuel price crisis (Google Trends), and has doubled again since the summer.
• Petrol, at 174.88p, is still 16.67p below its July 2022 record of 191.55p.
• British Fuel Prices’ daily figures, from every forecourt’s price under the government’s Fuel Finder scheme, put average diesel at 200.3p on 5 October, over £2 since 30 September.

Sam Allcock, editor of British Fuel Prices, said: “Diesel has never been this expensive, and drivers are responding the only way they can, by hunting for the cheapest pump. Searches for cheap fuel nearby have quadrupled in a year. The good news is that the gap between the cheapest and dearest forecourt in most towns is still several pence a litre, and every price is now published, so it pays to check before you fill up.”

Full release: https://www.britishfuelprices.co.uk/press/diesel-hits-record-high-searches-quadruple/
Chart (free to use): https://www.britishfuelprices.co.uk/charts/press/2026-10-06-diesel-record.png
Today’s prices for any town: https://www.britishfuelprices.co.uk/

Sources: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero weekly road fuel prices (published 6 October 2026); Google Ads UK monthly search volumes and Google Trends UK (retrieved 6 October 2026); British Fuel Prices analysis of official Fuel Finder data. Free to use with a credit (Source: British Fuel Prices) and, online, a link. Happy to pull figures for a particular town, road or brand the same day.

Sam Allcock
Editor, British Fuel Prices
editor@britishfuelprices.co.uk
https://www.britishfuelprices.co.uk