NOW
Live Fuel Prices
What is happening right now — not an annual average, not a historical figure. Every number below is either a genuine live snapshot or explicitly the latest published figure, labelled accordingly.
A live figure is not a yearly figure.
What is happening now
Live and latest-available indicators
Average petrol price
LIVE168.1pence/litre
- Data period
- Week commencing 14 September 2026
- Geography
- UK
- Last updated
- 14 September 2026
Average diesel price
LIVE190.7pence/litre
- Data period
- Week commencing 14 September 2026
- Geography
- UK
- Last updated
- 14 September 2026
Fuel Duty rate
LIVE52.95pence/litre
- Data period
- Current rate, in force since 15 June 2026
- Geography
- UK
- Last updated
- 15 June 2026
VAT rate on fuel
LIVE20%
- Data period
- Current standard rate
- Geography
- UK
- Last updated
- 8 September 2026
Crude oil price (Brent)
NOT YET AVAILABLENot yet available
- Geography
- Global
Source: Not yet verified against a primary source (e.g. EIA, ICE)
GBP/USD exchange rate
LIVE1.3353US$ per £1
- Data period
- Spot rate
- Geography
- Global
- Last updated
- 17 September 2026
Bank of England Bank Rate
LIVE3.75%
- Data period
- Current rate, set 18 December 2025
- Geography
- UK
- Last updated
- 18 December 2025
CPI inflation rate
LATEST AVAILABLE3.1% per year
- Data period
- 12 months to August 2026
- Geography
- UK
- Last updated
- 16 September 2026
Average weekly earnings (regular pay)
LATEST AVAILABLE705£/week
- Data period
- May–July 2026 (3-month average)
- Geography
- Great Britain
- Last updated
- 15 September 2026
National Living Wage (21+)
LIVE12.71£/hour
- Data period
- Current rate, effective from 1 April 2026
- Geography
- UK
- Last updated
- 1 April 2026
Fuel Duty receipts
YTD8.4£bn
- Data period
- April to July 2026 (year to date, provisional)
- Geography
- UK
- Last updated
- 21 August 2026
Cost of a 100-mile journey (40mpg petrol car)
LIVE19.09£
- Data period
- Calculated from today's petrol price
- Geography
- UK
- Last updated
- 14 September 2026
Source: Calculated: 100 miles ÷ 40mpg × 4.54609 litres/gallon × current petrol price
2026 is not over yet
The year in progress
Three genuinely different things: today's price, the year-to-date average, and the full-year average. Only one of these exists right now.
petrol
168.1p
Week commencing 14 September 2026 — a live snapshot, not a 2026 annual average (2026 is still in progress)
—
2026 year-to-date average — not yet calculated from a verified data series
—
2026 full-year average — only available once the year is complete
We never label the live figure above as "the 2026 average" — it is a single-day snapshot, not an annual average.
diesel
190.7p
Week commencing 14 September 2026 — a live snapshot, not a 2026 annual average (2026 is still in progress)
—
2026 year-to-date average — not yet calculated from a verified data series
—
2026 full-year average — only available once the year is complete
We never label the live figure above as "the 2026 average" — it is a single-day snapshot, not an annual average.
Where does your money go today?
Live Follow the Money
Uses today's verified pump price and current tax rates.
Based on a petrol price of 168.1p/litre in 2026. The exact split varies with the fuel price, wholesale costs, retailer margins, and VAT at any given time — this is not a fixed formula.
An honest question
Why can two petrol stations charge different prices?
Fuel Finder scheme operational since February 2026
Two petrol stations, sometimes only a few miles apart, can charge noticeably different prices for the same fuel on the same day. The CMA has confirmed one clear factor: non-supermarket retailers are consistently more expensive than supermarket retailers — but that is not the whole picture, and a higher price at one station does not automatically mean wrongdoing.
What the CMA has confirmed
- Supermarkets have consistently lower average margins than non-supermarkets (see margins table above).
- Individual retailers vary — two unnamed non-supermarket retailers raised prices well beyond the market average in June 2026.
Factors regulators say can matter
- Local competition — how many other stations are nearby.
- Site costs — motorway service areas and rural sites often have higher running costs.
- Purchasing scale — large chains can buy fuel more cheaply than independents.
Fuel Finder — the official open data scheme
Under the Motor Fuel Price (Open Data) Regulations 2025, UK fuel retailers must report price changes within 30 minutes to Fuel Finder, a government open-data scheme (policy set by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; data aggregated by an appointed operator; enforced by the CMA). As of the CMA's August 2026 report, an estimated 97% of stations were registered, covering an estimated 99% of fuel sales volume — the CMA describes this as an indicative estimate, not an audited figure.
Fuel Finder is an open-data feed, not a public map of its own — the government's own guidance says drivers can find the information “on participating third party apps and websites.” We link to the official scheme rather than building our own live price map, since we do not have a verified live data feed to draw on.
Source: GOV.UK — Fuel Finder and CMA Enhanced Road Fuel Monitoring report, August 2026
A higher price is not automatically profiteering — and a lower price is not automatically better.
Want the long-run picture?
See how today compares with completed historical years, side by side.