Why are diesel prices going up again? What has caused the fuel price increase as diesel nears £1.90 a litre

The price of diesel is on the verge of reaching £1.90 per litre, bringing the cost of filling a Transit-size fuel tank to £152.

The average UK pump price stood at 189.27p a litre for diesel on Monday, while petrol was 165.75p, according to the latest figures from the AA.

Diesel will almost certainly hit the £1.90 mark by the end of the week, the motoring firm believes.

It last reached this height on 3 August before starting to fall, dropping to £1.80 on average by the start of this month. However, over the course of October, the price has crept back up by 10p, pushing up the cost of filling an 80-litre tank by £8.

The vast majority of commercial vehicles in the UK have diesel, rather than petrol, in the tank – as of 2020 more than 95 per cent of lorries and vans were powered by the fuel. Overall, there are an estimated 11.5m diesel cars on the road in Britain.

Luke Bosdet, the AA’s fuel spokesman, said the price increases came at a particularly bad time as the clocks going back this weekend will push the evening rush-hour into darkness.

“More use of lights, wipers and heaters in the winter months makes vehicle engines work harder and use more fuel,” he said.

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Mr Bosdet attributed the price surge to a variety of factors: Higher oil prices, greater demand and countries seeking alternatives to expensive gas for electricity generation and heating all play a role.

“Getting one mile less from a gallon of fuel is equivalent to using up more than an extra litre per tank for a car that averages around 45 miles per gallon,” he said.

“Meanwhile, many haulage and delivery firms add surcharges to invoices to insulate themselves from higher diesel prices. That then passes on those higher costs to customers, and therefore consumers, quickly, fuelling inflation further.”

@kt_grant