UK Diesel Prices Near £2 a Litre as Wars Wipe Out Fifth of Global Supply

British motorists face record diesel prices within days, with forecourt costs heading toward £2 a litre as wars destroy roughly a fifth of global diesel supply.

Small traders and drivers are bearing the brunt of a refining shortage that has already pushed pump prices past all-time highs across Europe and the United States, according to the report.

The trigger sits more than 1,500 miles from British forecourts. Smoke rising from the Kapotnya oil refinery south-east of Moscow marks one of Ukraine's biggest air raids on the Russian capital since the start of the war. Hundreds of drones targeted Moscow on the final day of voting in Russia's parliamentary election, and the refinery damage adds another blow to an already stretched global refining system.

That attack compounds a second shock: the US-Israel war on Iran. Together, the conflicts have wiped out about a fifth of global diesel supplies, tightening a market where refining capacity was already struggling to meet demand.

The consequences are landing fastest on those who depend on fuel to earn a living. "Half my day's pay goes to filling up my car now," one driver said, capturing the squeeze on household budgets and small trading businesses across Britain.

Average UK diesel prices are expected to reach new record highs within days, following the pattern already established across Europe and the US, where pump prices have surpassed previous all-time peaks. The broader energy crisis has also lifted Brent crude, feeding through to costs well beyond the fuel pump.

For small traders, the diesel crunch threatens margins and viability. For households, it adds to inflationary pressure at a moment when living costs are already stretched. And with the conflicts driving the supply loss showing no sign of de-escalation — the Moscow refinery strike came on the last day of Russia's parliamentary election — the prospect of relief at the forecourt looks remote.

Unless refining capacity comes back online or the conflicts ease, British businesses and consumers should prepare for diesel prices settling at, or above, the £2-a-litre mark in the weeks ahead.