A major supermarket has cut its petrol and diesel prices by a huge amount in a bid to make fuel more affordable for drivers.
Asda revealed today that it has slashed 4p per litre of all its forecourts due to the falling in wholesale costs.
The price reduction which has been the lowest level since 2022, now applies to petrol and diesel at all Asda and Asda Express branded sites.
The cuts today mean that the average price for petrol would now be 131.96p while diesel would be 137.63p.
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The move by the supermarket comes after the RAC warned that fuel prices should fall from a six-month high because of a drop in wholesale costs.
Allan Leighton, Executive Chairman at Asda, said: "At Asda, it's in our DNA to give hard-working customers and their families the best value we can, no matter how they shop with us.
"This cut in our prices provides real savings when they fill up their cars with us, and they can find more in store too."
The reduction in fuel prices by Asda compares with the average costs across the UK, where drivers currently pay 138.6p per litre for petrol and 145.8p per litre for diesel.
The RAC said price cuts were possible because the cost of oil has dropped from above $80 (£61) in mid-January to below $70 (£54).
The Competition and Markets Authority watchdog found UK drivers paid a total of £900million more for fuel at supermarkets in 2022 because of increased margins, and £1.6billion across all retailers in 2023 because of the same issue.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: "It’s great to see Asda leading the way once again with a serious price cut on its forecourts, following our call for retailers to pass on savings from lower wholesale costs. This should spark others into action and help bring down costs for drivers right across the country.
"The longer oil keeps trading around the $70 mark, the more likely we are to see petrol hit its lowest price in four years. Drivers keen to fill up at the lowest prices possible should download the free myRAC app and use its comprehensive fuel finder feature to locate the cheapest petrol and diesel near them."
Fuel prices are also dependent on the global price of crude oil, which in turn is governed by supply and demand for crude oil, oil refinery production and capacity, the pound to dollar exchange rate, as refined fuel is sold in US dollars per metric tonne and distribution costs.
Meanwhile, Luke Bosdet, a spokesperson for the AA explained that pump prices should have shown signs of dropping "a long time ago".
He added: "'We suspect that the retailers, knowing that there was room to lower prices, were watching each other locally to see who would budge first.
"We can only hope that the government and CMA 'fuel finder' scheme, which is working on a voluntary basis at the moment and will be mandatory at the start of next year, will zero drivers in on the competitive forecourts.
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Experts added that the move by Asda could trigger a pricing war by other supermarkets who may be considering dropping their prices.
Find Out More...
Asda revealed today that it has slashed 4p per litre of all its forecourts due to the falling in wholesale costs.
The price reduction which has been the lowest level since 2022, now applies to petrol and diesel at all Asda and Asda Express branded sites.
The cuts today mean that the average price for petrol would now be 131.96p while diesel would be 137.63p.
Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]
The move by the supermarket comes after the RAC warned that fuel prices should fall from a six-month high because of a drop in wholesale costs.
Allan Leighton, Executive Chairman at Asda, said: "At Asda, it's in our DNA to give hard-working customers and their families the best value we can, no matter how they shop with us.
"This cut in our prices provides real savings when they fill up their cars with us, and they can find more in store too."
The reduction in fuel prices by Asda compares with the average costs across the UK, where drivers currently pay 138.6p per litre for petrol and 145.8p per litre for diesel.
The RAC said price cuts were possible because the cost of oil has dropped from above $80 (£61) in mid-January to below $70 (£54).
The Competition and Markets Authority watchdog found UK drivers paid a total of £900million more for fuel at supermarkets in 2022 because of increased margins, and £1.6billion across all retailers in 2023 because of the same issue.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: "It’s great to see Asda leading the way once again with a serious price cut on its forecourts, following our call for retailers to pass on savings from lower wholesale costs. This should spark others into action and help bring down costs for drivers right across the country.
"The longer oil keeps trading around the $70 mark, the more likely we are to see petrol hit its lowest price in four years. Drivers keen to fill up at the lowest prices possible should download the free myRAC app and use its comprehensive fuel finder feature to locate the cheapest petrol and diesel near them."
Fuel prices are also dependent on the global price of crude oil, which in turn is governed by supply and demand for crude oil, oil refinery production and capacity, the pound to dollar exchange rate, as refined fuel is sold in US dollars per metric tonne and distribution costs.
Meanwhile, Luke Bosdet, a spokesperson for the AA explained that pump prices should have shown signs of dropping "a long time ago".
He added: "'We suspect that the retailers, knowing that there was room to lower prices, were watching each other locally to see who would budge first.
"We can only hope that the government and CMA 'fuel finder' scheme, which is working on a voluntary basis at the moment and will be mandatory at the start of next year, will zero drivers in on the competitive forecourts.
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Experts added that the move by Asda could trigger a pricing war by other supermarkets who may be considering dropping their prices.
Find Out More...