Fuel Gauge. (EU)

The EU average for Euro-super 95 reached €2.104 a litre in the week of 28 September 2026, the highest in the 1,086 weekly bulletins since January 2005. The old record, €2.034, was set in the week of 13 June 2022. Prices have been above it for the last four weeks.

In 2022 a litre cost €1.698 in the week of 21 February, three days before Russia invaded Ukraine. By mid-June it was 33.6 cents dearer. A chart like this shows timing, not cause.

The bulletin of 23 February 2026, the last before the United States and Israel struck Iran on 28 February, had petrol at €1.637 a litre and diesel at €1.594. Four weeks later petrol was 25.6 cents dearer. It eased to €1.757 at the end of June, then climbed again: on 28 September it was 46.7 cents, or 28.5%, above the pre-war price.

Diesel rose further, 64.3 cents (40.3%), to €2.237, its own record. Filling a 50-litre tank with petrol now costs €23.33 more than in February. A chart like this shows timing, not cause.

From 2005 to 2021 a litre of diesel cost on average 12.9 cents less than petrol across the EU, and was dearer in only 3 of 839 weeks. In 2022 it was dearer in 63% of weeks. In 2026 it has been dearer in 24 of 39 weeks, and on 28 September by 13.3 cents.

Most of the old gap was tax: before tax, diesel averaged 3.7 cents more than petrol in 2005–2021, and 20 of the 27 countries still tax a litre of diesel less. Before tax, diesel is now 25.4 cents dearer.

Consumer prices in the EU rose 68.0% between January 2005 and August 2026. In August 2026 euros, the first week's €1.042 becomes €1.751, so petrol's real rise is 20.2%, not 101.9%.

Measured that way, the dearest week was 27 August 2012, at €2.386; the 2022 high came in the week of 14 March, at €2.378. Today's €2.104 is 11.8% below the 2012 peak; 224 earlier weeks cost more in real terms.