Petrol and diesel prices hold as Houthi attacks push oil to $113

Brent crude has climbed to its highest level since early May after a run of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. UK forecourt prices haven't followed it up yet. FuelWise's figures for Friday 23 October show the average litre of E10 petrol at 173.9p and standard diesel at 199.1p. Both are slightly lower than a week ago. Cuts still outnumber rises at the pumps, but the oil market has turned against drivers.

Pump prices today: small falls continue

FuelWise tracks prices at every forecourt reporting to the Government's Fuel Finder scheme. On Friday morning the UK averages were:

• E10 petrol: 173.9p a litre, down 0.3p on the week (petrol prices)
• Standard diesel: 199.1p, down 0.2p on the week (diesel prices)
• Super unleaded (E5): 191.3p, down 0.4p on the week and 3.3p over 30 days
• Premium diesel: 218.6p, up 0.1p on the week

The movement is small. Retailers made 7,049 price changes at 3,381 forecourts over the past seven days. Of those, 4,899 were cuts and 2,150 were rises. In the last 24 hours there were 805 cuts and 260 rises. More forecourts are still cutting than raising, but the falls are a fraction of a penny and diesel remains just under £2.

Our latest weekly Price Pulse found that petrol fell 0.5p and diesel 0.7p in the week to 18 October.

Why oil jumped: Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

The main development this week came from the Gulf. Reuters reported on 22 October that Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis had struck several targets in Saudi Arabia on the Wednesday. At least one person was killed at a civilian airport in Dammam, and two people died in a drone attack on a Saudi oil field.

The National reported that the oil-field attack was near Saudi Aramco's Shaybah field, which produces about 1 million barrels a day, and that operations there were unaffected. It also reported that crude flows through Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline had reportedly been halted on 5 October after a Houthi strike on a pumping station. That pipeline lets Saudi crude bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

According to Reuters, via MyJoyOnline, Brent rose 4% on Thursday to settle at its highest level since 4 May. Saudi Aramco ordered the evacuation of its Dhahran headquarters as the fighting intensified. Early on Friday, Brent was little changed at about $112.96 a barrel.

Iran is part of this too. Reuters reported that Iran's Revolutionary Guard navy said it had hit four vessels involved in what it called illegal oil transfers in the northern Persian Gulf. It also said three more vessels had hit mines west of the Strait of Hormuz.

What it means at the pumps

For UK drivers, the important point is that the oil price has risen while pump prices haven't. Retail prices drifted down over the past week even as Brent climbed, and most of this week's daily changes at the pump are still cuts, as the figures above show. FuelWise will be watching whether that balance shifts.

Diesel is the bigger worry. In mid-October the International Energy Agency warned that Europe could face renewed wholesale diesel price rises in the coming weeks. It said supply disruption would keep markets tight well into 2027. On 21 October the EU's Oil Coordination Group said diesel and jet fuel supplies remain tight but that there is no shortage in Europe. In the United States, the Department of Energy said on 21 October that it was offering to loan up to nearly a third of the 1-million-barrel emergency heating oil reserve, Reuters reported, to contain prices that have surged on diesel shortages.

There is some relief on the currency side. Oil is priced in dollars, so a stronger pound makes each barrel cheaper in sterling. Analysts at FOREX.com noted on 22 October that the pound had risen to five-week highs against the dollar. That partly offsets dearer crude, but only partly.

Reuters also reported that Russia said it was ready to resume US-mediated peace talks with Ukraine next month, after President Putin met US envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg. Sanctions on Russian energy have pushed up oil prices, Reuters noted.

The Budget and fuel duty next week

The UK has its own date to watch. The Chancellor presents the Budget on 28 October, and it will decide how much fuel duty drivers pay from January.

A government policy paper on GOV.UK sets out the current position. The temporary 5p a litre cut, first introduced in March 2022, runs until 31 December 2026, keeping duty on petrol and diesel at 52.95p a litre. Under the default set in law, the rate would rise to 55.95p from 1 January 2027 and to 57.95p from 1 March 2027. The paper says the government will confirm the final rates at Budget 2026.

Where fuel is cheapest now

Supermarkets. The average supermarket forecourt charges 171.4p for E10 and 196.3p for diesel. Other forecourts average 174.5p and 199.9p, about 3p a litre more. Among the big brands, Morrisons averages 171.5p for E10, Sainsbury's 171.6p, Asda 171.8p and Tesco 172.1p. BP averages 176.4p and Shell 176.6p.

Motorways. Motorway services average 193.0p for E10 and 216.6p for diesel. On a 55-litre fill of E10, the gap between the average motorway and the average supermarket price (21.6p a litre) comes to about £11.90.

Regions. Northern Ireland is still the cheapest part of the UK by a clear margin, at 166.0p for E10 and 191.0p for diesel. It also had the biggest weekly falls: 0.7p and 0.6p. The five cheapest council areas for unleaded are all there, led by Antrim and Newtownabbey at 165.3p. In Great Britain, the North East is lowest at 172.2p for E10 and 198.5p for diesel. The South East is the dearest region for E10 at 175.7p. The council area with the highest average is West Berkshire, at 183.0p.

The full range. The cheapest E10 FuelWise can see today is 155.9p, and the dearest is 209.9p. For diesel the range runs from 169.9p to 234.9p. You can compare forecourts near you on the live price map.

What drivers can do

• Check before you go. Nearby prices can differ by several pence a litre, more than this week's national change.
• Avoid motorway fill-ups where you can. Filling up before joining the motorway saves about 20p a litre on average.
• Use E10 unless your car needs E5. Super unleaded averages 191.3p, about 17p more than E10.
• Watch next Wednesday. The Budget will set fuel duty from January.

Our methodology page explains how FuelWise's averages are calculated.