Supermarkets Drop Petrol Prices To Below GBP1 A Litre

Thu, 16 Oct 2008
 
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Supermarket chains Asda and Morrisons have intensified the war on fuel prices by slashing the price of unleaded petrol to 99.9p a litre.

The latest reduction marks the first time the price of a litre of petrol has dropped to under £1 in the UK this year and means customers will be paying on average £10 less to fill up their tanks than they did in July.

The cost of diesel has also dropped at Asda pumps from 116.9p to 110.9p per litre.

The move by the retailers is in response to the prolonged fall in the global oil market, with the price of a barrel of oil dropping from a summer high of $147 (£84) to the current figure of $71.

Last week the Prime Minister said he wanted price cuts to be passed on to consumers "as quickly as possible".

Asda trading director Darren Blackhurst said: "Drivers should not be paying more than 99.9p a litre for unleaded fuel based on current oil prices. Past experience tells us that unless they live near an Asda they still will be."

Over the last three months the Wal-Mart owned retailer has cut diesel prices by 20p and petrol by more than 18p, which has been a major factor in the strong like-for-like performance of supermarkets in recent months.

Morriosns chief executive Marc Bolland said: "The price of crude has fallen in recent days and, yet again, we're passing this on to our customers. We’re taking the lead again in cutting fuel prices and taking unleaded back below a pound a litre."

Tesco sparked a new round of fuel price cuts last week by shaving 3p off a litre of petrol . Oil groups Total and BP swiftly responded by announcing similar cuts at forecourts across the country.

Edmund King, president of the AA, said motorists should such reducions continue through the winter.

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