{"id":497884,"date":"2026-03-27T07:54:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T07:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/497884\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T07:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T07:54:09","slug":"petrol-and-diesel-prices-to-surge-across-britain-today-amid-iran-oil-crisis-rac-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/497884\/","title":{"rendered":"Petrol and diesel prices to surge across Britain TODAY amid Iran oil crisis, RAC warns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Motorists face a significant milestone at the pumps on Thursday as petrol crosses the \u00a31.50 per litre barrier across Britain for the first time in almost two years.<\/p>\n

The RAC issued the warning after average prices reached 149.82p per litre nationally – making a breach of the 150p threshold almost a certainty. <\/p>\n

The war in Iran<\/a> has driven the surge, adding 17p to the cost of a litre of petrol during March alone.<\/p>\n

Diesel users have been hit even harder, with prices climbing by more than 34p since US and Israeli military action against the Islamic Republic began. <\/p>\n

The current diesel average stands at 176.66p per litre, a level not seen since Christmas 2022.<\/p>\n

That previous spike occurred during the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

“Our analysis of wholesale fuel data points towards petrol continuing to rise to 152p a litre and diesel to 185p, possibly higher,” said the RAC’s Simon Williams.<\/p>\n

The projections remain below the record highs of 2022, when petrol exceeded \u00a31.91 and diesel nearly touched \u00a32.<\/p>\n

\"Woman<\/p>\n

Petrol is set to cross the \u00a31.50 per litre barrier for the first time since mid-2024 on Thursday<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

The staggering rise also comes amid a period of extraordinary oil market volatility, with Brent crude currently trading at approximately $107 per barrel.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, oil briefly approached $120, having risen dramatically from around $70 just four weeks prior.<\/p>\n

“While soaring costs at the pumps are putting a strain on drivers, as long as the cost of oil remains around $100 [then] prices should begin to stabilise,” Mr Williams said.<\/p>\n

As well as the worrying average rise, forecourts around the country are in line for severe price disparities.<\/p>\n

PANIC AT THE PUMPS – READ MORE:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"RAC<\/p>\n

The RAC issued the warning after average prices reached 149.82p per litre nationally<\/p>\n

| RAC<\/p>\n

Rural filling stations and motorway services typically charge the steepest rates.<\/p>\n

Government data from the Fuel Finder service reveals over 170 garages are now selling diesel above 190p per litre.<\/p>\n

A small number have pushed past the 200p mark.<\/p>\n

Conversely, several dozen outlets offer diesel for just under 160p, while motorway petrol currently exceeds 171p per litre.<\/p>\n

\"HM<\/p>\n

The Treasury stands to benefit substantially from elevated prices through VAT receipts<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

Ministers have levelled accusations of profiteering at retailers – though forecourt operators reject this.<\/p>\n

The Treasury, meanwhile, stands to benefit substantially from elevated prices through VAT receipts.<\/p>\n

The 20 per cent levy applies to fuel after duty has been added, creating what critics describe as a tax on a tax.<\/p>\n

RAC Foundation figures show UK motorists consumed 18.6 billion litres of petrol and 28.3 billion litres of diesel last year.<\/p>\n

Based on pre-conflict prices, annual VAT revenue would have reached \u00a313billion.<\/p>\n

With current elevated prices factored in, that projection climbs to \u00a315.5billion – a \u00a32.5billion windfall for Government coffers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Motorists face a significant milestone at the pumps on Thursday as petrol crosses the \u00a31.50 per litre barrier…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":497885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,7816,682,1294,585,655,50,681,2331,56,54,55,231],"class_list":["post-497884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-cars","tag-diesel","tag-economy","tag-iran","tag-lifestyle","tag-news","tag-petrol","tag-sgg","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}