Fuel injector

An injection nozzle for an internal combustion engine, comprising a needle 30 slidably received in a bore 14 that engages with a seating insert to control fuel flow through nozzle outlets 18. The seating insert has an upper valve seat in the bore upstream of the nozzle outlets. The needle comprises first 36 and second 38 axially spaced seating portions, the first engages the upper seat of the insert 24; and the second engages a lower valve seat in the bore 26. The insert defines a flow path for fuel to travel from the upper seat to the nozzle outlets. The diameter of the upper and lower valve seats is similar (The upper may be up to 20% larger), thereby reducing the load required to seat the valve needle when the fuel pressure is lower than the cylinder pressure. This minimises the size of the return spring 6 and enables a smaller solenoid 3 to be used to provide the lift to needle.