James Cheyne
BBC Scotland

Scotland recorded the highest average price among UK nations for a litre of diesel today as records were broken.

The average price in Scotland was £2.00.8p at lunchtime on Friday according to the UK Government Fuel Finder.

In England it was £2.00.0, Wales was £1.99.7 and Northern Ireland £194.2.

In remote parts of rural Scotland prices climbed even higher. The average price in the Western Isles was £2.09.9 per litre. In Shetland it was £2..05.3. And on Tiree it is £2.38 per Litre according to the Island's Community Development Trust.

Fuel in Scotland's Highlands and Islands is often more expensive than in more populated areas because of a range of factors including higher transport costs, long distances and low turnover.

Adele Wilkinson
Live reporter

Image source, Steven Tompkins

Steven Tompkins is a driving instructor in Leicester. He says the increase in diesel prices "really hurts".

Tompkins says driving instructors, as well as those wanting to learn to drive, are affected by rising costs.

"It really hurts when you see the price of fuel going up on a regular basis, and I’m going to have to put the prices up to compensate for it," he says.

"When you’ve got kids who are working part time, they’re on a tight budget and we’re telling them that the prices are going to have to go up because of the fuel, it’s hurting," he adds.

"The fuel bill for driving instructors is very high."

Steven says the rising costs of fuel are "pushing a lot of youngsters out of the market".

He thinks it's "going to affect their freedom, and it’s going to affect their careers".

Joe Pike
Political correspondent

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband will attend the G7 leaders' meeting on diesel later.

The prime minister is not able to attend due to his father's funeral.

French President Emmanuel Macron is chairing a video conference of G7 leaders this afternoon at 14:30 local time (13:30 BST) focused on the global energy situation, the Élysée Palace has said.

We will bring you any lines as they emerge.

Mark Means, whose family have run a farm in Norfolk which grows crops for over 50 years, says he is "frightened to death" by the rising costs of diesel.

He says red diesel - used by farm vehicles - has gone up by 70 to 80% since the war in Iran started, while diesel sold at petrol stations has gone up by "about 40%".

As a result, his farm spent £50,000 on new diesel tanks in March, after the war began, as he was concerned he would not have be able to secure enough supply to harvest the crops he had grown.

Means finished his potato harvesting yesterday but is now worried about having enough fuel supply to get next year's harvest in the ground.

He tells the BBC the increase in diesel prices has taken about 30% off the farm's yearly margin, with the increased price of fertiliser - also due to the war - driving down the margin even further.

"It feels like it’s an assault, and you're just trying to make decisions every day," he adds.

Oscar Edwards
BBC Wales

Image source, Matthew Francis

Matthew Francis is the general manager of a haulage company based in Crymych, West Wales, and says his workforce is "fed up" with the price rises.

"Good morning is getting hard to say because things are tough," he adds.

Matthew relies on diesel to operate his fleet, and says "if it’s moved by road, it's gone up" in recent months, leaving him feeling like he does not know "where it ends".

The situation has left him with no choice but to increase his haulage rate to cover the additional costs, and he says it is not just the price of fuel that has impacted his business either.

He adds: "Engine oil has gone up nearly a pound a litre, tyres have gone up, and that’s not going on the price of jobs."

Mitchell Labiak
Business reporter

Despite the concern around what US President Donald Trump’s diesel export ban might mean for prices at the pump - both in the UK and everywhere else - the wholesale cost of oil and diesel has fallen today.

The global benchmark oil price has fallen by almost 2%, while the European benchmark diesel price has dropped around 6%.

The pump price tracks the wholesale price. However, there is a lag of about two weeks because transporting oil is a slow process.

The wholesale cost is dropping following a rise in the amount of wholesale oil being shipped from the Middle East as tensions around the US-Israel war with Iran ease slightly.

The possibility of the EU releasing some of its oil reserves in response to Trump’s threats has also helped push down prices.

Here in the UK, average diesel pump prices have breached the £2 mark for the first time ever because forecourts are selling oil they paid for weeks ago when wholesale prices were up.

What does not appear to have yet to be factored into the wholesale price, or the pump price, is the potential US diesel ban itself.

The wholesale price has not moved dramatically since Trump started discussing the idea.

If the ban becomes reality, though, expect that to change.

Why is UK diesel at record levels?published at 12:28 BST

12:28 BST

Theo Leggett
International business correspondent

Petrol prices have risen sharply in recent weeks, but remain well below the all-time record hit in 2022. So why is diesel at record levels?

In the UK we have four refineries. Between them, they make more than enough gasoline - or petrol - to meet our needs. But they don’t make enough diesel, which means we rely on imports. The closure last year of refineries in Grangemouth and Immingham increased that reliance.

Imports, meanwhile, are expensive - because the conflict in the Middle East and an export ban introduced by Russia have reduced the amount of diesel available on global markets, pushing up wholesale prices.

This is why a US export ban could be a problem. It would reduce the diesel available even further, and leave countries competing for the remaining supplies.

Image source, EPA

A haulage industry boss describes the impact of higher fuel prices as "catastrophic".

Speaking to the BBC, Lesley O'Brien from Freightlink Europe explains that fuel has gone up 48% since the beginning of the year, which is putting £33,000 plus VAT on her costings every month.

O'Brien says those costs can't be absorbed and have to be passed on, which impacts the cost of food and other goods for everybody.

She says the government must step in to prevent more haulage companies "going to the wall" and suggests a reduction in VAT, an extension of the fuel duty freeze and an essential user rebate.

The European Union (EU) says it is ready for collective action with the International Energy Agency (IEA) on fuel stocks.

It says that it has rejected Washington's threats to ban diesel exports unless the EU releases more of its own stock.

According to the Reuters news agency, France has proposed that European countries release 50 million barrels of diesel, and that IEA members release 50 million barrels of crude oil.

The EU says that a ban would not be beneficial to anyone.

The UK is a member of the IEA, and is required to keep oil stocks equal to at least 90 days of net oil imports in reserve.

EU members discussed that any agreement on further diesel stock releases should include a US commitment to avoid a unilateral diesel export ban.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams says 55% of the UK's diesel is imported, with "just under a third" of that coming from the US.

He says Russia used to be an important supplier to the UK before an export ban following its invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine has been hitting Russian refineries recently as the war continues, which has also impacted supply.

Although the UK hasn't been buying from Russia, other countries have, meaning you have "more countries competing for less diesel", Williams says.

This means the UK is "very reliant" on American diesel, he adds.

US President Donald Trump has now said he is considering banning US exports of the fuel.

"It is not good news if there is anything like that… from Washington," Williams says.

We're about to hear from several live guests, including RAC head of policy Simon Williams.

We'll also be hearing from people impacted by higher diesel prices - including a farmer and haulage company.

You can follow along at the top of the page by tapping watch live - we'll also bring you the key lines here.

Lucie Fisher
Reporting from Newlyn

Fishermen say they could be forced out of business unless the government helps with fuel costs.

They want ministers to follow the EU's lead and provide support for an industry they say is "vital to UK food security".

Nathan Cock, a skipper of Our Rachael in Cornwall, tells the BBC it feels "as though the government did not want the fishing industry".

He says: "We've been asking repeatedly for help with fuel and we've had nothing, nothing whatsoever. It's not acceptable."

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says the government supports the industry through fuel tax relief and £360m from its Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund.

• Read more here on how fuel prices are affecting the fishing industry

I’m not a driver of a diesel car, why should I care?published at 11:17 BST

11:17 BST

Kevin Peachey
Cost of living correspondent

Millions of people in the UK do not drive a diesel car. Many do not drive at all.

But, if you are one of those people, it would be a mistake to think these record prices won’t affect you.

That’s because diesel is used heavily in agriculture and, crucially, in haulage.

So transporting some of our biggest essentials – particularly food – around the country is getting more expensive.

Add other energy cost pressures faced by manufacturers and retailers and you can see why there is a risk of the prices we pay in the shops going up if high diesel prices persist.

Previous episodes of high costs at the pumps have even had a knock-on effect on school transport and trips, putting pressure on councils and schools, particularly in rural areas.

More now from RAC head of policy Simon Williams, who says it's not just diesel prices that have been rising, but petrol prices too.

A litre of unleaded now costs 174.71p on average, "around 42p more than at the start of the [Iran] war".

This takes the typical cost of a full tank to £96, Williams says.

He adds that average petrol prices are "higher than we would expect - suggesting some retailers could be making an effort to keep diesel prices a little lower by balancing prices across the two fuels".

"This is a pump price threshold that no-one wanted to cross," says RAC head of policy Simon Williams.

It comes after the average price of a litre of diesel rose to a record 200.01p in figures released by the RAC this morning.

Diesel prices are "showing no signs of slowing, heaping more misery onto motorists," Williams says.

He adds: "The cost of filling up an average family car is now £110, almost £32 more than it was at the start of the US/Iran war."

"With electricity and gas bills also rising, household budgets will already be squeezed," Williams says.

"Drivers will be looking to the government to step in and ease the burden by lowering fuel duty further or reducing VAT in October's budget."

The average price of diesel has topped £2 a litre for the first time ever, the RAC says, as it publishes the latest diesel prices.

We'll bring you more on this shortly.

Image source, PA Media

Transport Minister Keir Mather says Britain’s supply of diesel is “robust” and “resilient” and the country has a wide range of sources.

He tells Sky News: “I want to reassure people this morning that the United Kingdom has got a diverse range of supply when it comes to diesel.

“We have resilience built into our system for that reason.

“We are working very closely with our US counterparts to stress the importance of that relationship, and the importance of sustaining flows of diesel around the world, but also working through international fora in the International Energy Agency and partners in Europe from whom we get a proportion of our diesel imports as well.”

Mather adds: “Although prices have gone up at the pump, the government is aware of that and the freeze in fuel duty is still in place.

“People shouldn’t be concerned about shortages because of the inherent resilience that is built into that system.”

Image source, Getty Images

Former US energy secretary Dan Brouillette, who served during the first Trump administration, says a US export ban on diesel is unlikely to reduce prices long-term.

While it might temporarily push down US diesel prices, Brouillette tells Radio 4's Today programme that the US refines "more than we actually consume" which means "storage becomes an issue".

"When you reach that limit, what happens in the refining business is you begin to shut down the…refining production," he says. This means that, "over a period of time, prices will continue to rise again".

Brouillette goes on to explain other knock-on effects, saying that if one country leads with an export ban, "you can pretty well expect" others to follow suit.

Francisco Velasquez
Business reporter

Image source, Getty Images

For the US economy, a ban could deliver short-term relief at the pump by flooding the domestic market with excess supply.

However, energy analysts warn it could backfire.

David Fyfe, chief economist at Argus Media, notes that cutting off American supply would likely cause international prices to skyrocket.

That would push up global freight, food, and industrial costs, ultimately "feeding inflation back into the global economy".

"At a stroke, the US's reputation as a reliable supplier of energy to the world would be shot," Fyfe adds.

Removing more than a million barrels of daily American supply would trigger a fierce bidding war among importing nations in Latin America and Europe.

Sarah Raffoul, analytics manager at Argus Media, notes that while higher international prices would eventually curb demand, the immediate gap would severely strain trade relationships and accelerate global inflation.

• Read more from our business reporter here