Global diesel shortages caused by conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have triggered record fuel price increases affecting households and businesses worldwide. Ukraine's attacks on Russian refineries, combined with the US-Israel conflict in the Middle East and Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, have destroyed approximately a fifth of the world's diesel supplies, creating a refining capacity crisis that threatens to raise costs across economies.

UK diesel prices have surged 54% to 196.28p a litre since late February and are expected to hit a record £2 per litre within days, whilst European and American forecourts have already reached all-time highs. Russian refinery output has fallen by almost a third to a 20-year low following sustained Ukrainian drone attacks, whilst Middle Eastern refineries—which previously supplied 10% of global fuel—have been severely damaged. The crisis disproportionately affects small business owners, traders and farmers for whom diesel is their single biggest operating cost, forcing them to raise prices and ultimately layering additional expenses onto consumer goods and services.