Petrol and diesel prices this week: cuts slow as oil hits $110

Pump prices fell again last week, but only slightly. In the week to 18 October, FuelWise's Price Pulse found that the average price of petrol fell 0.5p a litre and diesel fell 0.7p. Over the seven days to this morning, the UK average for E10 unleaded is down 0.5p to 174.2p, and standard diesel is down 0.6p to 199.2p. (The two diesel figures differ because they cover slightly different seven-day periods.)

Those cuts came while oil was getting dearer. Brent crude briefly reached $110 a barrel on Friday, its highest level since May. There are also early signs that forecourt price cuts are slowing.

What changed at the pumps

The past week's figures for the four main fuels:

• E10 petrol: average 174.2p, down 0.5p in seven days
• Standard diesel: average 199.2p, down 0.6p
• Super unleaded (E5): average 191.5p, down 0.8p
• Premium diesel: average 218.5p, down 0.2p

On a 55-litre tank, the average E10 price works out at about £95.81 and diesel at about £109.56. That means last week's fall saved roughly 30p a fill-up. Diesel is still 25p a litre dearer than petrol, and the median diesel price is 199.9p, just below £2.

Cuts are slowing

FuelWise records every price change reported through the Fuel Finder scheme. Over the past seven days, there were 10,525 changes at 4,661 forecourts. Of those, 8,158 were cuts and 2,367 were rises, about three and a half cuts for every rise.

The last 24 hours look different. Of 503 changes, 292 were rises and 211 were cuts. One day of data is not a trend, but it comes as oil reached its highest price since May.

Where prices fell most

Every region got cheaper last week, but not by the same amount.

• Petrol: the biggest fall was in the North East (down 0.8p to 172.6p), followed by Scotland and Northern Ireland (both down 0.7p). The smallest falls were in the South East and South West (both down 0.3p).
• Diesel: Northern Ireland fell furthest, down 1p to 191.4p. The South East and South West again had the smallest falls (both down 0.4p).

Northern Ireland is still the cheapest part of the UK by a distance. Its average E10 price of 166.5p is 9.5p below the South East's 176.0p, the dearest region for petrol. All five of the cheapest council areas for unleaded are in Northern Ireland, led by Ards and North Down and Causeway Coast and Glens at 165.8p. The dearest is West Berkshire at 182.1p. For diesel, the South East and Scotland are joint dearest at 200.6p.

Where you fill up matters more than when

A few pence a week is small next to the gap between types of forecourt:

Motorway petrol costs on average 19.5p a litre more than supermarket petrol, about £10.70 on a 55-litre tank. For diesel the gap is 18.4p.

Among the big supermarkets, Sainsbury's has the lowest average E10 price (171.6p), followed by Morrisons (171.8p), Asda (172.0p) and Tesco (172.2p). Sainsbury's is also cheapest for diesel at 196.3p. Of the larger fuel brands, Shell (176.9p) and BP (176.6p) have the highest average E10 prices. The live map shows prices near you, and the diesel prices and petrol prices pages show the cheapest forecourts in each area.

Why oil went up

Two developments drove the oil market last week.

Attacks on ships in the Gulf. Iranian strikes on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz put oil on course for a weekly gain. Reuters reported on Monday that the analytics firm Kpler said Gulf crude flows fell to about 8.5 million barrels a day last week, on a seven-day average, from more than 20 million the week before. Kpler also counted at least 10 confirmed incidents involving commercial ships. ING's commodity team told OilPrice.com that the market was pricing in "a significant risk premium", and said removing it fully would take an agreement between the US and Iran.

Russia, Ukraine and Washington. On 15 October, Al Jazeera reported that Russia said Ukraine had targeted an oil refinery in Ryazan. This came after President Zelenskyy said Kyiv was "done" with an energy ceasefire that President Trump had announced. Trump told Newsmax the resumed strikes were "making the world oil price higher". On Friday, Trump signed an executive order waiving key sanctions and tariffs on Russia, Reuters reported. This followed a deal with President Putin for Russia to export diesel to the US. Brent fell $1.43 to $108.43 in early Asian trading on Monday after the waiver.

Why diesel stays near £2

The International Energy Agency's October Oil Market Report, published on 14 October, helps explain why diesel stays so far above petrol. The IEA said diesel markets "remained under significant strain". Global diesel exports in September were 700,000 barrels a day lower than a year earlier, largely because of lost supply from Russia and the Middle East. It said global diesel prices had eased from record highs of more than $200 a barrel in September but remained nearly double the price of crude. It also said tight diesel supplies were likely to continue well into 2027.

The IEA also said Gulf crude exports recovered strongly in September but warned that renewed attacks leave that recovery "fragile".

The pound and the Budget

There was some help from the currency. Oil is priced in dollars, so a stronger pound makes it cheaper to buy here. Reuters reported that on Friday sterling reached $1.3329, its highest against the dollar since 23 September.

The same Reuters report said the Chancellor, John Healey, will deliver his first Budget on 29 October. He has said it will offer "a bit of breathing space". The report did not say whether that will include fuel duty.

What it means for drivers

Prices are still falling, but slowly. Diesel's UK average has stayed just under £2, and the last day's data shows more rises than cuts. Oil reached its highest price since May last week, and the IEA has warned of more turmoil while the conflict in the Middle East continues. So there is no sign yet of a big drop at the pumps.

You can't control the oil price, but you can control where you fill up. Buying at a supermarket rather than a motorway forecourt saves about 19.5p a litre on petrol and 18.4p on diesel, which is much more than last week's falls.