How petrol and diesel prices have changed over the past decade

Petrol and diesel prices have fallen by almost 50 pence per liter since peaking last summer, but are still much higher than in 2021, new figures show.

In their weekly report on road transport fuel prices, the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero reported that the average price of unleaded gasoline at the pump is now 145.71 pence per liter. Motorists with diesel cars pay 162.71p.

That’s well below the peak of 191.55p for petrol and 199.22p for diesel last summer, but is also significantly higher than the prices of 126.53p and 130.43p respectively in early May 2021.

Meanwhile, the RAC has warned that fuel prices could rise in the near future due to an increase in oil prices.

Our interactive chart below shows how petrol and diesel prices have changed over the past ten years, so you can see what has happened to your bill.

Fuel prices have been a problem with governments for at least a century.

On 31 July 1922, Philip Lloyd-Greame, Chairman of the Board of Trade, responded to complaints of high prices from MPs with: ‘His Majesty’s Government is fully aware of the importance of petrol being available at reasonable prices.’

Turn the clock forward to the present and after the Russian invasion of Ukraine fuel prices skyrocketed, with diesel peaking at an average of 199.22p per liter and petrol 191.55p per liter in July 2022.

At that time, 91.26 pence of every liter of petrol and 92.79 pence of every liter of diesel went directly to the Treasury Secretary in the form of fuel duty and VAT.

This prompted emergency measures to reduce fuel duty on petrol and diesel as families faced the prospect of paying over £100 to fill a standard runabout.

Now gasoline prices are returning to levels last seen in the run-up to Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

Currently, every liter bought at the local petrol station has a fuel duty of 52.95 pence plus VAT at 20 per cent added to the cost.

Over the past 12 months, gasoline prices have fallen by an average of 10 percent, while diesel prices have fallen by six percent.

Although it is feared that fuel prices could rise again after a shock decision by OPEC+ to cut production levels by nearly 1.2 million barrels of oil per day.

This pushed oil prices in international markets to £69.77 a barrel from £56.50 last month.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: ‘The big question is whether retailers will increase pump prices, and if so, how quickly.’

He added that while average costs at the pump would not rise immediately after the spike in oil prices, they could rise if they remained high for “a few days”.

If higher costs feed through to filling stations, the AA’s forecasted petrol prices could rise by between 3 and 5p a litre, equivalent to adding £1.65 to £2.75 to the cost of filling the typical tank of 55 liters of a car.

A recent parliamentary briefing document blamed the recent fuel crisis on the war in Ukraine, exacerbated by the weak pound.

It said: ‘Excise duties on petrol and diesel were reduced by five pence per liter on 23 March 2022. This initially led to a drop in the price of both fuels, but by less than five pence per litre. This price drop was quickly reversed and there were particularly large increases at the end of May and June.

High international oil prices are being magnified in the UK because of the relative weakness of the pound sterling. The price of crude oil in British pounds reached an all-time high in 2022.

In addition, there were record refining margins in early 2022, initially for diesel and later for gasoline, due to a decline in refinery output/capacity and the impact of the war in Ukraine.

“This explains the rapid increase in road transport fuel prices between May and July 2022 at a time when oil prices rose more slowly.”

Although prices paid by motorists at the pump have fallen, oil giant Shell reported today that it made £1.4bn more profit than experts had expected in the first three months of the year.

The company joined rival BP this week in reporting results this week that beat expectations.

Shell said adjusted profit was up 5.7 percent compared to the same quarter a year earlier, to £7.6 billion.

The company said that, compared to the last three months of 2022, it had experienced unfavorable tax moves and the price at which it could sell oil and gas fell.

However, Shell said it was able to offset some of this by cutting operating costs and increasing trade in chemicals and products.

Shell said it had cut production slightly from a year ago, to 2.9 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Turnover rose 3.3 percent to just under £69 billion.

It also announced plans to buy back shares worth £3.2bn from investors over the next three months to return cash to owners.

Upon completion, Shell will have returned approximately £9.6 billion to its shareholders in the first six months of 2023.

Like its rival BP, Shell’s results immediately prompted calls for the government to take a tougher stance on the oil companies.

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: ‘Shell is reporting £7.6bn profit for the first quarter, but the Tories are refusing to introduce a proper windfall tax on oil and gas giants this year to freeze council taxes, as Labor would.

“We are addressing the cost of living crisis and putting working people first.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called on the government to close the ‘loopholes’ in the windfall tax, allowing companies to tax their investments in the North Sea.

“Shell’s latest profits show once again the urgent need for a hefty windfall tax for large energy companies,” he said.

“Rishi Sunak’s refusal to close loopholes for big energy companies shows how out of touch this conservative government is with the struggles families are currently facing.”

> Fuel duty and VAT explained: How taxes on petrol and diesel work and add up