Fuel prices 'should begin to come down' as wholesale costs ease

Fuel prices "should begin to come down" following 43 days of successive hikes to average costs, according to a leading motoring group amid fears of farmer-led protests hitting the UK.

The RAC said the pump price spikes of recent weeks, caused by disruption to oil supplies inflicted by the war in the Middle East, had now levelled off with those for both petrol and diesel remaining stable on Tuesday.

The body said unleaded had risen 25.5p to an average of 158.3p since the Iran conflict began.

Diesel was 49p higher at 191.54p - a consequence of the country being reliant on imports.

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The RAC expressed hope that these average prices, which have taken the cost of filling a family diesel car to £105, would now start to fall due to a reduction in wholesale prices charged to retailers.

Prices began to ease last week after Donald Trump confirmed a two-week ceasefire with the Iranians.

Data from the AA showed wholesale costs down by as much as 4p a litre for petrol and 20p for diesel but both reductions had since halved given event-driven fluctuations in the oil market.

Costs have shifted since US-Iran peace talks broke up without agreement at the weekend, with the US president later beginning an effective blockade of the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route.

The narrow passage in the Persian Gulf, controlled by Iran, usually accounts for a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas flows.

The longer these shipments remain frozen, the greater the squeeze becomes on alternative supplies.

While the surge in fuel costs is tipped to lead an immediate spike in inflation, the wider increases in energy and other oil-related costs will inevitably spill down supply chains to businesses and households in the months to come.

Following a series of disruptive fuel protests in Ireland, a UK farmer told Sky News that he was involved in organising similar action.

Gripes include not only fuel costs - and a lack of financial help from the government - but also the doubling of many fertiliser prices.

They said it could result in major road or a refinery blockade as soon as later this week but cautioned that no plans were yet in place and that the number of farmers involved remained unclear.

The government, which is under pressure to cancel planned rises to fuel duty, has fired several warnings to petrol retailers that they should play fair with pump costs.

The industry has long been accused of being quick to pass on rising wholesale costs and slow to reflect price drops.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: "Wholesale fuel costs are now significantly lower than they were at the start of the month, so forecourt prices should begin to come down. As things stand, we'd expect petrol and diesel to drop by several pence a litre in the next week or so.

"It will be very interesting to see if this plays out as the data indicates."

Gordon Balmer, executive director of the Petrol Retailers' Association industry group, told Sky News: "Oil prices remain volatile, driven by events in the Middle East.

"As the crisis is still ongoing, it is too early to determine the direction of travel for pump prices."

(c) Sky News 2026: Fuel prices 'should begin to come down' as wholesale costs ease