Diesel drops by record 17p a litre in June, while petrol falls 8p

RAC senior policy officer

4 minute read|2nd Jul 2026

The average price of diesel fell nearly 17p a litre in June setting a new record for the biggest fall in a single month since 2000, analysis of RAC Fuel Watch data reveals.*

At the start of June diesel averaged 183.75p but by the end it had tumbled 16.6p to 167.14p, exceeding the previous largest drop in a calendar month by almost 5p (4.69p). This was the 12p (11.92p) drop in May 2023 almost a year after the start of the war in Ukraine sent the oil price soaring.

The average price of petrol also reduced by 8p a litre (7.97p) in June – making for the seventh greatest monthly fall in the last 26 and a half years – falling from 159.37p to 151.40p. This has saved petrol car drivers £4.40 a tank on a typical 55-litre family car (£87.65, down to £83.27). The diesel saving is even greater, with a full tank now £9 less than it was at the start of the month – £91.93, down from £101.06.

The pump price reductions were driven by a barrel of oil sliding from $94.98 at the start of June to just $72.92 on 30 June on the back of a deal between the US and Iran to end the conflict.

The diesel pump price drop was even greater at the big four supermarkets with their average price coming down 19p a litre from 182.37p to 163.28p. The unleaded reduction, however, was slightly smaller than the UK-wide one, at 7p (7.15p)

The price of motorway fuel also fell by nearly 8p for unleaded – 179.78p to 171.67p, but diesel’s decline wasn’t as steep as that seen across the whole of the UK, only coming down 14p (13.83p) from 201.07p to 187.24p.

While the UK-wide mean average for petrol stands at 151.40p on 30 June, the most commonly seen price on forecourts across the four nations (the modal average) is actually slightly lower at 149.9p, whereas for diesel it is a little higher at 169.9p in contrast to the mean average of 167.14p.

June has been a far better month for drivers on the back of the announcement of a deal between the US and Iran to end the conflict. The price of oil has fallen dramatically and prices at the pumps have reflected that. While diesel dropping 17p in a month is very positive, it’s also important to realise that its average price shot up 49p a litre from the end of February to 191.54p on 15 April, which equates to a rise of more than a penny a day. So, the cost of the fuel today remains far higher than it was at the start of the war. Fortunately, the oil price is now in the low-$70s range which is only $10 above the average of the first two months of the year. At the time the conflict began drivers had average prices of 132p for unleaded and 142p for diesel, so we’re still some way off those levels. As things stand, petrol should dip under 150p soon and diesel ought to get to below 160p but we would need the price of oil to fall further to see a return to the pre-conflict prices. Although the supermarkets have reduced their prices significantly it’s often the case that smaller forecourts have the cheapest prices. In England, the lowest priced petrol is currently being sold by GW Holmes of Etherley Moor Garage in Bishop Auckland at 139.7p. The best diesel price appears to be 152.9p Linthouse Lane Service Station in Wolverhampton, which is matched by two Sainsbury’s sites also in the city. But it’s still Northern Ireland that leads the way with the cheapest average prices – here, the average price of petrol is already 147.5p and diesel 162.6p. We hope the transparency the Government’s Fuel Finder scheme brings with retailers obligated to report their prices within half an hour of changing has helped with June’s price reductions.

Simon Williams

RAC head of policy

RAC orange van attending a breakdown on a mountain road with driver talking to patrolman.

Roadside cover from £5.29 a month*

Cheaper than AA or we’ll beat it by 20%^{^}

Cheaper than AA Price Promise^{^}
We get to most breakdowns in 60 mins or less
Our patrols fix 4/5 breakdowns

Buy breakdown cover

^*At least 10% of new customers pay this for single-vehicle Roadside (Basic). ^{^}T&Cs apply.

Drivers looking to save money on their fill-ups should take advantage of the fuel finder feature in the free myRAC app. The app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play, and drivers don’t need to be RAC members to use it. Up to 10 searches a day can be made over a two, five or 10-mile radius, with each giving the five cheapest prices.

^{* UK average pump prices quoted are based on the Government Fuel Finder data from 1-30 June 2026. Wholesale prices are from the Oil Market Journal 1-30 June.}