Average diesel prices in Britain are predicted to breach £2 a litre for the first time ever, pushed up by the threat of a US ban on the fuel’s export as well as disruption to supplies from the Middle East and Russia.

Average UK-wide prices reached a record nominal high of 199.53 pence a litre on Tuesday and are set to climb above 200 pence per litre within the next few days, according to the RAC motoring group.

Britain imports about 55 per cent of its road diesel owing to insufficient domestic refining capacity, and has had to cope with a double shock to global diesel markets owing to the Iran and Ukraine wars, with the Strait of Hormuz restricted and Russia curbing exports.

UK energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said on Tuesday that she was confident the UK would find a solution to the proposed diesel export ban. Gordon Balmer, executive director at the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), said prices were likely to rise even further if the ban went ahead as countries competed for tighter supplies.