Middle East war sees UK petrol price increase by record amount in March

The war in the middle east which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran has had a record impact on fuel prices in the UK.

The UK gets the majority of its petrol from the US and Norway, which means the supply of oil to Britain has not greatly suffered as a result of the Middle East war, in which Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz through which around 20 per cent of the world’s oil transits, leading to a substantial slowing of global supply chains that have had the most impact on Asia.

However, the source of the supply of the UK’s oil does not insulate it from increasing fuel prices since the price of oil is dictated by global markets.

The result of this is that the price of petrol, and diesel for that matter, has increased at a record level in the UK during March, according to data from the RAC.

A litre of petrol began last month at 132.83p on 1 March, but by the end of the month that price had risen by 20p to 152.83p. 

This beats the previous record for a single-month increase in the per-litre price of petrol that was set in June 2022 as the world reacted to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which, of course, remains ongoing. On that occasion, petrol rose by 16.6p per litre to 191.43p by the end of the month.

Compared to diesel, though, the petrol price rise in March 2026 was relatively minor, with a litre of diesel rising by over 40p last month to 182.77p from the 142.38p it began March at.

“March has been truly unprecedented – fuel prices have never risen this fast in a single month,” said RAC head of policy Simon Williams.

“But while this is the biggest pence-per-litre increase ever in a month, it’s not as great in real terms as those seen during the 1973 oil crisis when the price of a barrel quadrupled.

“The increases drivers have had to endure in March 2026 far exceed those seen in the early days of the war in Ukraine.

“While the monthly rise in a litre of petrol is bad enough, the jump in the cost of diesel is even harder to swallow at 40p a litre – 18p more than the previous monthly record. With long-term RAC research showing eight-in-10 people are dependent on their vehicles, these costs must really be taking their toll on both households as well as businesses.”

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