ONS real-time data shows the growth rate of average automotive fuel prices jumped 27 percentage points year-on-year in August 2026, as the quantity of fuel bought per transaction fell sharply over the same period.
The growth rate of average automotive fuel prices rose 27 percentage points in August 2026 compared with August 2025, according to figures posted by the Office for National Statistics. Month-on-month, the figures show a further 7 percentage point increase compared with July 2026. Analysts have pointed to ongoing conflict in the Middle East as a factor keeping global supply tight through the summer, though the ONS bulletin itself does not specify a cause for the price movement.
At the same time, the growth rate of the average quantity of fuel demanded per transaction dropped 11 percentage points year-on-year in August 2026, and 3 percentage points compared with July 2026. That pattern matches earlier ONS data showing fuel demand per transaction in July 2026 was around 5 per cent lower year-on-year, even as average prices were around 15 per cent higher over the same period.
Put plainly: drivers are paying more but putting in less each time they stop at a forecourt.
For Kent households and businesses, the impact lands hard. The county’s road network — especially the M20 and M2 carrying freight to and from Dover and the Channel Tunnel terminal at Folkestone — means fuel costs run through the local economy at every level, from haulage firms to residents commuting on local A-roads. Kent County Council and district councils may also feel the pressure through vehicle fleet costs covering services such as waste collection, highways maintenance and social care visits. Reduced quantities per transaction could signal that some motorists are managing cash flow by buying smaller amounts more frequently — a pattern that tends to hit lower-income households hardest.
The ONS derives these indicators from aggregated anonymised card-spending data combined with road fuel price, sales and stock level data supplied by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The statistics carry an “official statistics in development” classification, meaning they are experimental and subject to refinement. Local pump prices across Kent may differ from the UK-wide averages the indicators describe.
Source: @ONS