Asger Risom
UK drivers are reporting higher petrol and diesel prices after oil markets surged following escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Fuel prices at UK petrol stations are reportedly rising again, with some motorists seeing sharp increases at the pump over the past two days.
Campaign group FairFuelUK says drivers across the country have reported higher costs while filling up, with diesel seeing the steepest increase.
Drivers report sudden pump price hikes
Howard Cox, founder of FairFuelUK, said more than 100 drivers had contacted the campaign to report rising prices.
“120+ FairFuelUK supporters have contacted the campaign from all across the UK to report that pump prices have increased in the last 48 hours by an average of 6.7p for petrol and 8.8p for diesel,” he said.
Cox also claimed that some petrol stations may be raising prices before wholesale fuel costs have fully filtered through.
“Most of these forecourts, many believe, are selling fuel at these higher prices even though they bought these stocks before any wholesale rises. It seems opportunistic profiteering is rife once again,” he said.
Oil prices react to Middle East tensions
The price changes come as global oil markets react to escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The United States and Israel carried out strikes against Iran last week, triggering wider instability in the region. The conflict has disrupted key shipping routes and pushed global oil prices sharply higher.
According to Cox, oil prices have risen roughly 20% over the past week — a surge that typically feeds through to fuel costs.
“The big worry for me at the moment, because we had a 20 per cent increase in oil prices in the last week, is that we will get something like a 5p to 10p increase at the pumps,” he said.
“I think that could come through by the end of the week.”
Calls for greater transparency on fuel pricing
Cox also renewed calls for stronger monitoring of fuel prices, pointing to the PumpWatch system that he launched with then-Conservative energy secretary Claire Coutinho in 2024.
The system was designed to publish daily wholesale price movements for petrol and diesel, showing how costs change over time.
“Where is PumpWatch to stop this opportunistic profiteering?” Cox asked.
The UK government has also introduced a price transparency initiative called Fuel Finder, which allows drivers to compare pump prices through apps and websites using real-time data.
Despite these tools, motorists often experience immediate increases at the pump when oil prices rise — while reductions tend to take longer to appear.
Source: Daily Express
