This statistic shows the average price for bulk diesel (excluding VAT), in pence per liter, in the United Kingdom (UK) between December 2008 and December 2018. The year on year price of bulk diesel increased strongly between 2008 and 2011 after which it began to slightly decrease. By December 2014 the average price for a liter of bulk diesel had fallen below one pound. The price continued to fall in 2015, with one liter of bulk diesel costing less than 82 pence but increased again, reaching 99.77 pence per liter in 2018.
On March 24, 2025, the price of ultra-low sulfur unleaded petrol (gasoline) in the United Kingdom averaged 135.61 pence per liter. This compared to 143.07 pence per liter for diesel. Diesel prices were consistently higher than petrol/gasoline prices throughout this period, although the margin varied. Reasons for such differences in pricing lie in the refining process and molecular makeup of the products, with diesel requiring more complex refining processes and being an overall heavier liquid. As motor fuel pricing in the UK is not regulated by a monitoring body, there may also be notable differences in prices between retailers and regions. Supermarkets provide lowest fuel prices in the UK In the UK, much of the motor fuel is sold through supermarkets. Large supermarkets, or hypermarkets, account for more than 40 percent of all motor fuel sales in the country. The reason for their popularity often lies in the fact that they offer lower average prices. In the last four years, regular petrol/gasoline sold at supermarkets was up to six pence per liter cheaper than the national average. How UK fuel prices compare to the rest of the world Tied as they are to crude oil prices, motor fuels are generally cheapest in major producing countries, such as Iran, Venezuela, and Russia. In Europe, costs of importing the raw or finished products, in addition to taxes and levies, may hike up pump prices significantly. The UK is often among the countries with the highest petrol/gasoline prices, alongside other large European car markets such as France and Germany.
Fuel prices, already high due to a recovering post-pandemic economy, surged even higher after Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 2022. As of May of that same year, UCOME (used cooking oil methyl ester) average wholesale prices were higher than any other fuel, standing at 2,607 U.S. dollars per metric ton of oil equivalent. This represented an increase of over 124 percent when compared to 2018/2019 average prices. However, the largest price increase was reported for TME (tallow methyl ester). As of May 2022, TME's average wholesale price amounted to 1,112 U.S. dollars per metric ton of oil equivalent, up by more than 133 percent in comparison to 2018/2019.
A dataset of average pence per litre and per gallon petrol and diesel fuel prices in the UK regions including England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The price of gas in the United Kingdom was 106 British pence per therm in the fourth quarter of 2024. It is anticipated gas prices will increase to 131 pence in the second quarter of 2025 before gradually falling to just under 80 pence by the second quarter of 2027.
Surging energy costs and the cost of living crisis
At the height of the UK's recent cost of living crisis in 2022, approximately 91 percent of UK households were experiencing rising prices compared with the previous month. It was during 2022 that the UK's CPI inflation rate reached a peak of 11.1 percent, in October of that year. Food and energy, in particular, were the main drivers of inflation during this period, with energy inflation reaching 26.6 percent, and food prices increasing by 18.2 percent at the height of the crisis.
Global Inflation Crisis
The UK was not alone in suffering rapid inflation during this time period, with several countries across the world experiencing an inflation crisis. The roots of the crisis began as the global economy gradually emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. Blocked-up supply chains, struggled to recover as quickly as consumer demand, with food and energy prices also facing upward pressure. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 led to Europe gradually weening itself of cheap Russian energy exports, while for several months Ukraine struggled to export crucial food supplies to the rest of the World.
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Crude Oil decreased 2.12 USD/BBL or 2.95% since the beginning of 2025, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Crude Oil - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2025.
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Naphtha decreased 1.76 USD/T or 0.29% since the beginning of 2025, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Naphtha - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2025.
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Ethanol increased 0.06 USD/GAL or 3.25% since the beginning of 2025, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Ethanol - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2025.
On March 24, 2025, the Brent crude oil price stood at 73.05 U.S. dollars per barrel, compared to 69.11 U.S. dollars for WTI oil and 75.11 U.S. dollars for the OPEC basket. These were slight increases compared to the previous weeks, which had seen some of the lowest prices in four years.Europe's Brent crude oil, the U.S. WTI crude oil, and OPEC's basket are three of the most important benchmarks used by traders as reference for oil and gasoline prices. Lowest ever oil prices during coronavirus pandemic In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic resulted in crude oil prices hitting a major slump as oil demand drastically declined following lockdowns and travel restrictions. Initial outlooks and uncertainty surrounding the course of the pandemic brought about a disagreement between two of the largest oil producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia, in early March. Bilateral talks between global oil producers ended in agreement on April 13th, with promises to cut petroleum output and hopes rising that these might help stabilize the oil price in the coming weeks. However, with storage facilities and oil tankers quickly filling up, fears grew over where to store excess oil, leading to benchmark prices seeing record negative prices between April 20 and April 22, 2020. How crude oil prices are determined As with most commodities, crude oil prices are impacted by supply and demand, as well as inventories and market sentiment. However, as oil is most often traded in future contracts (whereby a contract is agreed upon, while the product delivery will follow in the next two to three months), market speculation is one of the principal determinants for oil prices. Traders make conclusions on how production output and consumer demand will likely develop over the coming months, leaving room for uncertainty. Spot prices differ from futures in so far as they reflect the current market price of a commodity.
In 2023, the price of natural gas in Europe reached 13.1 constant U.S. dollars per million British thermal units, compared with 2.5 U.S. dollars in the U.S. This was a notable decrease compared to the previous year, which had seen a steep increase in prices due to an energy supply shortage exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war. Since 1980, natural gas prices have typically been higher in Europe than in the United States and are expected to remain so for the coming two years. This is due to the U.S. being a significantly larger natural gas producer than Europe.
What is natural gas and why is it gaining ground in the energy market? Natural gas is commonly burned in power plants with combustion turbines that generate electricity or used as a heating fuel. Given the fact that the world’s energy demand continues to grow, natural gas was seen by some industry leaders as an acceptable "bridge-fuel" to overcome the use of more emission-intensive energy sources such as coal. Subsequently, natural gas has become the main fuel for electricity generation in the U.S., while the global gas power generation share has reached 22 percent.
How domestic production shapes U.S. natural gas prices The combination of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) and horizontal drilling can be regarded as one of the oil and gas industry’s biggest breakthroughs in decades, with the U.S. being the largest beneficiary. This technology has helped the industry release unprecedented quantities of gas from deposits, mainly shale and tar sands that were previously thought either inaccessible or uneconomic. It is forecast that U.S. shale gas production could reach 35 trillion cubic feet in 2050, up from 1.77 trillion cubic feet in 2000.
British gas price is expected to continuously increase until 2035, when prices are forecasted to stabilize. In 2035, low, central and high are expected to reach 43, 64 and 88 British pence per therm, respectively.
The high, central and low projections are used by Her Majesty's Government for policy appraisal and modeling work. Gas prices are influenced by a number of external factors, including new projects in places such as Australia, weather conditions affecting demand, and the price of oil relative to gas.
Germany, Belgium, and Ireland had some of the highest household electricity prices worldwide, as of June 2024. At the time, German households were charged around 0.39 U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour, while in Belgium, the price stood at 0.37 U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour. By comparison, in Qatar, residents paid more than 10 times less. What is behind electricity prices? Electricity prices vary widely across the world and sometimes even within a country itself, depending on factors like infrastructure, geography, and politically determined taxes and levies. For example, in Denmark, Belgium, and Sweden, taxes constitute a significant portion of residential end-user electricity prices. Reliance on fossil fuel imports Meanwhile, thanks to their great crude oil and natural gas production output, countries like Iran, Qatar, and Russia enjoy some of the cheapest electricity prices in the world. Here, the average household pays less than 0.1 U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour. In contrast, countries heavily reliant on fossil fuel imports for electricity generation are more vulnerable to market price fluctuations. The top importers of natural gas in Europe in 2023 were Germany and Italy, where this energy source constitutes a relevant share of the power mix.
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This statistic shows the average price for bulk diesel (excluding VAT), in pence per liter, in the United Kingdom (UK) between December 2008 and December 2018. The year on year price of bulk diesel increased strongly between 2008 and 2011 after which it began to slightly decrease. By December 2014 the average price for a liter of bulk diesel had fallen below one pound. The price continued to fall in 2015, with one liter of bulk diesel costing less than 82 pence but increased again, reaching 99.77 pence per liter in 2018.