Olly Harrison, who farms in Tarbock, on Merseyside, said he bought his fertiliser for a good price last year and now believes – due to a wet and cold spring and limited growing days left, added with the costs of diesel for machinery – he may be better off not planting.

Diesel prices have reached their most expensive level since December 2022, new figures show, as the Iran oil crisis escalates.

The RAC said the average price of a litre of the fuel at UK forecourts on Monday was 181.2p.

That represents a 27% increase from 142.4p on February 28, the day the war in the Middle East began.

Average petrol prices have reached 152.0p per litre, a rise of 14% from 132.8p over the same period.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “Compared to the start of the Iran conflict, it costs £10.55 more to fill up a typical family car that runs on petrol, and £21.35 more for a comparative diesel car.

“The financial strain on the eight in 10 motorists that tell us they depend on their cars continues to build, and at a particularly rapid rate for those who drive diesel vehicles.”

The 29.2p price difference between diesel and petrol is the largest since at least 2003.

UK oil refineries are more geared towards producing petrol than diesel, so the country’s supply of the latter is more reliant on imports.

Oil prices – which have a significant effect on the cost of wholesale fuel – have soared in response to Iran’s stranglehold on tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Latest DVLA figures show there were 16.2 million diesel vehicles licensed in the UK as of the end of September last year.

This included the vast majority of light goods vehicles, such as vans.

Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, described diesel as “the lifeblood of millions of small businesses” and warned that “white van man is bleeding cash just to stay on the road”.

He went on: “Whether you drive or not, soaring diesel prices will take money out of your pocket, either at the pump or in the bills you pay for everything from calling out the plumber to getting a home delivery.

“If oil prices remain at this level the impact on the forecourt could be felt for weeks, if not months.

“That’s bad news for everyone, not just drivers of the UK’s 4.6 million diesel vans, the majority of which will be used for work purposes.”

There are mounting calls for the Government to abandon the increase in fuel duty planned for September because of the rise in pump prices.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in her November 2025 budget that the 5p-per-litre cut in fuel duty introduced by the Conservative government in March 2022 would only be extended until the end of August 2026, with rates then gradually returning to March 2022 levels over the next five years.

AA president Edmund King said: “Government can consider what they do with fuel duty in September but, frankly, that is five months away, and arguably industry needs help now.

“With higher pump prices, the Government has been gaining more in VAT, so there is some ‘free’ money in the system that could be used to help drivers out.”

Downing Street has insisted forecourts are “well-stocked nationally” amid reports of pumps running dry in some locations.

Asked whether the Government was planning for any shortages, the Prime Minister’s spokesman replied: “We’ll always plan for all eventualities.”

He added: “To be very clear, as the PM (Sir Keir Starmer) has said and as the Government have said, and indeed industry have said, fuel production and imports are continuing.

“The UK benefits from diverse and resilient supply.

“Petrol stations in the UK are well-stocked nationally and any suggestion otherwise is incorrect.”

India’s industrial production grew 5.2 per cent in February, driven largely by an improvement in manufacturing output, according to official data released on Monday.Factory output, measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had expanded 2.7 per cent in February 2025, as per the official statement.Data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) also showed that industrial growth for January 2026 has been revised upward to 5.1 per cent from the earlier provisional estimate of 4.8 per cent.The manufacturing sector, which forms the bulk of the index, recorded a growth of 6 per cent in February 2026, compared with 2.8 per cent in the year-ago period, supporting the overall expansion.Mining output growth improved marginally to 3.1 per cent from 1.6 per cent a year earlier, while power generation rose 2.3 per cent against a 3.6 per cent increase in February 2025.According to the official data, the IIP index stood at 159.0 in February 2026 compared to 151.1 in the corresponding month last year.Within manufacturing, 14 out of 23 industry groups recorded positive growth. Key contributors included “manufacture of basic metals” (13.2 per cent), “manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers” (14.9 per cent), and “manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.” (10.2 per cent).In use-based classification, infrastructure and construction goods, intermediate goods and capital goods emerged as the top contributors to growth. Capital goods output rose 12.5 per cent, while infrastructure/construction goods grew 11.2 per cent and intermediate goods by 7.7 per cent.Consumer durables output expanded 7.3 per cent, whereas consumer non-durables contracted 0.6 per cent during the month.During the April-February period of FY26, industrial production growth remained flat at 4.1 per cent compared to the same period last year.