Shooting between America and Iran pauses as Qatar calls for a halt and offers to mediate
The shooting between America and Iran has paused and Brent crude has eased to just over $95 a barrel. A 1,000-litre fill costs about £1,030 including VAT, roughly £160 more than a week ago, though the climb has slowed.
What changed
The shooting between America and Iran has paused since Wednesday's brief. Iran fired missiles and drones at American bases in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait early on Wednesday, nearly all of them shot down, and says Tuesday's American strikes along its coast killed eight people, some of them at a wedding near the Strait of Hormuz, the sea lane that carries about a fifth of the world's oil.
Since then nobody has fired, Qatar has called for an immediate halt and offered to mediate, and President Trump, asked how long the bombing would go on, said he did not think it would be too long.
The worry that has not gone away is the tankers: only six cargo ships crossed the Strait on Wednesday, against eleven the day before and about thirteen a day in recent weeks, and Iran has added more ships to the list it says it will fine or seize.
The fill on 3 September
A 1,000-litre fill costs about £1,030 including VAT at the UK average on our tracker. That is roughly £160 more than a week ago on the same basis, although the climb has slowed since Wednesday rather than reversed.
Brent crude, the raw oil before it is refined, touched its highest since late July in midweek and has since eased to just over $95 a barrel, and heating oil has steadied with it.
A fill in the month to 3 September
1,000 litres · including 5% VATView the daily figures
| Date | 1,000 litres, incl VAT |
|---|---|
| 4 Aug 2026 | £936.41 |
| 5 Aug 2026 | £931.40 |
| 6 Aug 2026 | £923.98 |
| 7 Aug 2026 | £921.21 |
| 8 Aug 2026 | £902.89 |
| 9 Aug 2026 | £902.89 |
| 10 Aug 2026 | £870.39 |
| 11 Aug 2026 | £928.96 |
| 12 Aug 2026 | £916.60 |
| 13 Aug 2026 | £933.61 |
| 14 Aug 2026 | £916.26 |
| 15 Aug 2026 | £933.39 |
| 16 Aug 2026 | £933.39 |
| 17 Aug 2026 | £901.77 |
| 18 Aug 2026 | £927.94 |
| 19 Aug 2026 | £928.46 |
| 20 Aug 2026 | £924.53 |
| 21 Aug 2026 | £940.78 |
| 22 Aug 2026 | £934.85 |
| 23 Aug 2026 | £934.08 |
| 24 Aug 2026 | £917.97 |
| 25 Aug 2026 | £903.30 |
| 26 Aug 2026 | £863.27 |
| 27 Aug 2026 | £871.21 |
| 28 Aug 2026 | £892.13 |
| 31 Aug 2026 | £910.59 |
| 1 Sep 2026 | £984.19 |
| 2 Sep 2026 | £1003.20 |
| 3 Sep 2026 | £1024.79 |
The background
The story of this year is still that the world has enough crude oil but not enough working refineries to turn it into fuel. The war around the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted the Gulf's tankers and refineries since February, and Ukraine's drones have hit most of Russia's big refineries, so Moscow is keeping its diesel at home until at least the end of September.
Europe closed around 30 of its own refineries between 2009 and 2024 and depends on imported diesel, and because heating oil comes out of the same part of the refinery as diesel and jet fuel, it feels every shortage first.
America's stocks of diesel and heating oil grew a little last week but are still about a tenth below normal for the time of year. Even so, a litre is still just under 40p below the 137.6p peak reached in March.
What to watch
First, whether the pause holds and whether ships come back to the Strait: prices fell on Thursday because the firing stopped, but if tankers keep away the price climbs whether or not anyone is shooting.
Second, 30 September, when Russia decides whether its refineries may sell diesel abroad again, with officials in Moscow already talking about keeping the ban until the end of the year.