Diesel went past £2 a litre for the first time on Friday 2 October, according to the RAC, beating the previous peak from summer 2022. Government figures for the week to 5 October put the average just under £2, around 199.5p, above the old record of about 199p set in July 2022. The rise is being linked to the US-Iran conflict. If you have filled up this week, you have already felt it.
It has eased a fraction since, but only just. The RAC’s reading on 9 October was 199.9p, and Fuel Finder UK’s weekly index, published on 12 October from around 8,000 forecourts, had diesel at around 199p on 11 October, down less than half a penny on the week. Petrol is around 174p, so diesel is roughly 25p a litre dearer. Fuel Finder’s look at nearly 5,900 diesel forecourts found most did not cut at all, and some went up.
For a butcher that is a fuel bill rising at the worst possible time. A 55-litre fill is roughly £110 at these prices, and the week’s so-called fall is worth less than 20p on that fill. With turkey and goose orders, extra wholesale drops and the Christmas rounds only weeks off, every mile and every hour sat idling costs more than it did last year, and nobody is promising a quick drop.
Remember the fridge is part of it. A direct-drive unit runs off the engine, so sitting with the engine ticking over to keep the box at 0-5°C is burning diesel. If your van has electric standby, plug in overnight and before loading so the unit is only holding temperature on the road, not pulling a warm box down. A pre-chilled load, strip curtains and doors shut between drops all cut how hard it has to work.
Before the peak, I would tighten the rounds too: group drops by area, avoid half-empty runs, and get tyre pressures checked and the service done now rather than mid-December. Prices do vary between forecourts, so compare along your usual route rather than driving out of your way for a bargain. None of this is new, but at £2 a litre the small things add up a lot quicker.
Quick checklist
- Plug into standby overnight and before loading, not just on the road
- Fit strip curtains and keep the doors shut between drops
- Group Christmas drops by area and avoid half-empty runs
- Check tyre pressures and book the service before December
- Compare forecourts along your route, not off it
Also in the news
- GOV.UK confirmed over 60 new bluetongue cases on 10 October, with England now past 2,500 premises; worth asking your abattoir about availability. Source
- Devon is the worst-hit bluetongue county, FarmingUK reported on 9 October, with hundreds more suspected cases across GB awaiting results. Source
- Kirklees Council closed a Huddersfield supermarket’s bakery and butchers on 9 October after inspectors found cockroaches: a reminder that routine inspections bite. Source
If the van itself is part of the fuel problem this Christmas, here are three that suit a butcher’s round:
- 2023 (23 Reg) Ford Transit Custom Refrigerated Chiller Van: £24,995 +VAT
- 2023 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 315CDI L3H2 PROGRESSIVE Refrigerated Chiller Van: £39,995 +VAT
- Mercedes eSprinter MWB Chiller Van: £62,995 +VAT
See all our fridge vans for butchers
Call us on 01444 245555 to talk it through.
Sources: Average UK diesel price passes £2 per litre for first time, RAC says, UK Diesel Price Hits Record High • Channels Television, Petrol fell 0.2p and diesel fell 0.3p in the week to 11 October 2026, Diesel price rises offset 56% of the value of cuts elsewhere, UK fuel prices show early signs of easing, but the falls are small, Bluetongue: latest situation – GOV.UK
