UK petrol and diesel prices: what drivers paid on 2 August 2026

Petrol averaged 160.7p a litre across more than 7,800 UK forecourts on 2 August 2026, with diesel running almost 20p higher at 180.0p a litre, according to official UK fuel price data updated throughout the day.

For a typical family car with a 55-litre tank, filling up with standard E10 unleaded cost around £88 at those prices. Choosing diesel adds roughly £10.60 to that same fill, while opting for premium E5 unleaded at 178.1p a litre adds about £9.60 compared with standard petrol. Those differences are not huge on a single visit, but across a year of regular fill-ups they mount up to well over £100.

The gap between petrol and diesel is worth noting if you are thinking about which fuel type suits you. Diesel drivers were paying around £8.18 a gallon compared with £7.31 for E10 petrol users. For high-mileage drivers whose cars return strong diesel economy, that premium per litre can still make sense over a year, but for lower-mileage drivers the sums are tighter than they used to be.

Every fuel price figure in this article is the official reading for 2 August 2026.