UK red diesel costs see rise

7 February 2012

Posted by Bob Burton

The cost of red diesel in the UK has risen over the last few days, making up for a period of losses that were seen through the second half of January.

After prices hit a peak of almost 70.25p per litre (ex VAT) in the middle of last month, a steady period of falls took the commodity down to below 69.7p at the start of February.

However, recent days have seen this trend reverse, with significant increases over the weekend and this morning (February 7th) taking the fuel back over the 70p per litre mark, with red diesel selling today for an average price of 70.11p.

Recently, it was noted by the Farmer's Guardian that cutting the amount of fuel used in agriculture will be essential if farms are to increase profitability.

The publication noted the amount of fuel being used has reduced by a third since the 1970s, but a 350 per cent increase in the cost of red diesel over this time has outstripped any benefits made from this.

Click here to see the latest UK red diesel prices