Who publishes fuel price indices?

Major publishers of fuel price data and indices: (1) IEA (International Energy Agency) — publishes end-user petroleum prices for IEA member countries quarterly, with data on petrol, diesel, and heating oil prices including tax components; (2) Eurostat — EU harmonised energy price data, including transport fuel prices by member state; (3) US Energy Information Administration (EIA) — weekly US retail gasoline and diesel prices by region; weekly and monthly refinery and wholesale price data; (4) UK DESNZ (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero) — weekly UK pump price data published monthly; (5) OpenVan / GlobalPetrolPrices — curated international comparison data. National statistical offices (ONS in UK, INSEE in France, Destatis in Germany) include motor fuel in CPI component indices, which are used for contract indexation.

How are fuel price indices used in contracts?

Fuel price indices are widely used in logistics and transport contracts as the basis for fuel surcharge mechanisms. A typical road haulage contract specifies: a base fuel price (e.g., UK average diesel = £1.30/l); a fuel surcharge table or formula (e.g., for every £0.05/l diesel rises above base, rate per km increases by 1%); and a reference index (e.g., UK DESNZ weekly diesel price, average of last 4 weeks). When diesel prices rise, carriers automatically invoice the surcharge based on the index movement — protecting carriers from fuel cost volatility without requiring contract renegotiation. Airlines use similar mechanisms (Fuel Adjustment Factor, BAF — Bunker Adjustment Factor for shipping) linked to Jet A-1 or VLSFO price indices.

Fuel Price Index Guide

Q: What is a fuel price index?

A fuel price index is a statistical measure that tracks the change in fuel prices over time, expressed relative to a base period (typically set to 100). Index values above 100 indicate prices have risen since the base period; below 100 indicates a fall. Fuel price indices serve several purposes: (1) Tracking price trends over time, removing the absolute price level to focus on direction and magnitude of change; (2) International comparisons — expressing prices as indices allows comparison across currencies by normalising to a common base; (3) Contract indexation — fuel surcharges, haulage contracts, and energy supply agreements often reference a published fuel price index to automatically adjust rates when fuel costs change; (4) Policy analysis — governments use fuel price indices to assess the impact of tax changes, subsidy reforms, or market shocks on consumers.

Published 1 August 2026 · Updated 19 October 2026

Fuel price indices are the statistical tools that allow analysts, businesses, and policymakers to track fuel price changes over time and across countries in a comparable way. Unlike raw price data (e.g., £1.55/litre UK petrol), an index expresses prices relative to a base period — making trends clearer and enabling cross-country comparison without currency conversion complications. This guide explains how indices are constructed, where to find reliable fuel price data, and how fuel price indices are used in commercial contracts.

For raw fuel price data context, see our reading fuel price data guide. For price forecasting methods, see our fuel price forecasting guide.

What is a fuel price index?

An index takes a price level at a specific base period and sets it equal to 100. Subsequent prices are expressed as a percentage of the base price. If UK diesel was £1.20/litre in January 2020 (base = 100), and rose to £1.80/litre in June 2022, the index reading in June 2022 would be 150 (50% above base). If it then fell to £1.44/litre by December 2023, the index reading would be 120 (still 20% above base).

This abstraction from absolute prices makes indices useful for:

Visualising the percentage change over time without y-axis distortion from absolute price levels
Comparing fuel price movements in different currencies (e.g., USD/gallon US gasoline vs GBP/litre UK petrol) on the same chart
Identifying the fuel price component of broader inflation indices (CPI, PPI)
Contract indexation: automatic adjustment clauses tied to a published index

Major fuel price data publishers

Publisher	Coverage	Frequency	Key dataset
IEA (Paris)	IEA member countries (38 countries)	Quarterly	End-user petroleum product prices; tax breakdown
Eurostat (Luxembourg)	EU27 + EEA	Weekly/semi-annual	Harmonised EU fuel prices by fuel type and tax component
US EIA (Washington DC)	USA (national and 9 PAD districts)	Weekly (Mon pub)	Weekly retail gasoline and diesel survey
UK DESNZ	UK (petrol/diesel weekly)	Weekly (Tue pub)	UK pump price series (unleaded, diesel, E10, premium)
OpenVan / GlobalPetrolPrices	170+ countries	Weekly	Curated international comparison in USD/litre
OPEC Secretariat	OPEC member countries + basket	Daily/monthly	OPEC Reference Basket crude price; member crude differentials

Nominal vs real (inflation-adjusted) fuel price indices

A nominal fuel price index simply tracks the price as quoted — unadjusted for inflation. A real fuel price index deflates nominal prices by a general price index (CPI or PPI) to show purchasing power-adjusted fuel costs:

UK petrol averaged ~60p/litre in 2000 and ~155p/litre in 2026 — a nominal increase of 158%
UK CPI rose approximately 90% over the same period (2000–2026)
In real terms, 155p/litre in 2026 equates to approximately 82p/litre in 2000 money — about 37% higher in real terms than 2000 prices
This reveals that real petrol prices have risen significantly in the UK over 25 years, but not as dramatically as the nominal price suggests

Real price indices are useful for policy analysis (e.g., assessing whether fuel duty freeze has reduced the real burden of fuel tax over time) and for long-term comparisons that span periods of high inflation. For UK fuel duty context, see our fuel duty glossary entry.

Fuel price component in CPI
Motor fuels are a significant component of consumer price indices — typically 2–4% of CPI weighting in European countries. When fuel prices spike (as in 2022), the CPI motor fuel component can contribute 0.5–1.5 percentage points to headline inflation. Conversely, falling fuel prices reduce headline CPI even when core inflation (excluding energy and food) remains elevated. This is why central banks and analysts focus on core inflation (excluding energy) to assess underlying inflation trends.

Fuel price indices in commercial contracts

Logistics, transport, and energy contracts routinely include fuel adjustment clauses that automatically change contract rates when fuel prices move beyond a threshold:

Road haulage: Weekly UK DESNZ diesel price used as reference; contract rates adjust quarterly or monthly based on average index movement. See our trucking fuel costs guide
Aviation: IATA Jet A-1 price indices used in airline ticket pricing and fuel surcharges
Shipping: VLSFO bunker price indices used in BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor) — see our marine fuel guide
Energy supply contracts: Industrial gas and power supply contracts often reference gas price indices (TTF, NBP) to automatically adjust contract prices

Limitations of fuel price indices

Base period sensitivity: Choosing a base period at a price peak or trough distorts the apparent magnitude of subsequent changes
Aggregation hides geographic variation: A national average diesel index masks significant regional price variation (motorway vs supermarket; rural vs urban)
Currency effects: International comparisons in local currency terms can be dominated by exchange rate movements rather than genuine fuel price changes
Survey lag: Published indices typically reflect prices collected 1–4 weeks earlier; fast-moving markets can make indices temporarily backward-looking

Frequently asked questions

What is a fuel price index? A fuel price index tracks price changes over time relative to a base period (set at 100). Values above 100 indicate prices have risen; below 100, they've fallen. Indices allow trend comparison, cross-currency international comparison, identification of fuel's role in CPI inflation, and contract indexation for automatic price adjustment in logistics and energy supply contracts.: A fuel price index tracks price changes over time relative to a base period (set at 100). Values above 100 indicate prices have risen; below 100, they've fallen. Indices allow trend comparison, cross-currency international comparison, identification of fuel's role in CPI inflation, and contract indexation for automatic price adjustment in logistics and energy supply contracts.
Who publishes fuel price indices? Key publishers: IEA (quarterly end-user prices, 38 countries); Eurostat (EU27 weekly/semi-annual); US EIA (weekly US retail gasoline/diesel); UK DESNZ (weekly UK pump prices); OpenVan/GlobalPetrolPrices (170+ countries weekly). National statistical offices include motor fuel components in CPI, used for contract indexation.: Key publishers: IEA (quarterly end-user prices, 38 countries); Eurostat (EU27 weekly/semi-annual); US EIA (weekly US retail gasoline/diesel); UK DESNZ (weekly UK pump prices); OpenVan/GlobalPetrolPrices (170+ countries weekly). National statistical offices include motor fuel components in CPI, used for contract indexation.
How are fuel price indices used in contracts? Fuel price indices are used in automatic adjustment clauses in logistics contracts (haulage rates tied to DESNZ weekly diesel price), aviation fuel surcharges (BAF based on Jet A-1 index), shipping BAF (VLSFO bunker index), and industrial energy contracts. When the reference index moves beyond a threshold, contract rates adjust automatically — protecting both parties from extreme volatility without renegotiation.: Fuel price indices are used in automatic adjustment clauses in logistics contracts (haulage rates tied to DESNZ weekly diesel price), aviation fuel surcharges (BAF based on Jet A-1 index), shipping BAF (VLSFO bunker index), and industrial energy contracts. When the reference index moves beyond a threshold, contract rates adjust automatically — protecting both parties from extreme volatility without renegotiation.