Other UK supermarkets jump on the bandwagon, reducing their prices at the pump also
Supermarket giant Asda has triggered a fuel price war after cutting the price of petrol and fuel at their pumps by 2p.
This is the first fuel price cut since November on forecourts throughout the UK and one that was quickly emulated by other big supermarkets, including Morrisons and Tesco.
Motorists across Britain will be making the most of the price cuts, following the average price of a litre of unleaded increasing from 101.37p to 120.06p in just over a year.
Fuel price war kicked off by Asda with 2p cuts © Copyright Albert Bridge and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
According to the RAC, the cost of rising fuel prices increased the average fill up by over £10 for motorists in the UK.
Along with other price increases, such as average food costs rising for householders throughout the UK, inflation was pushed to a two-year high of 1.8%.
Many experts had already predicted that fuel price cuts wouldn’t be too far down the line.
The price that retailers have to pay for diesel and petrol has dropped over the past four weeks by around 2p a litre, with oil prices dropping from $55 per barrel, to less than $52.
Over the past few years, retailers have faced a backlash for not passing on savings to motorists, continuing to put prices up as wholesale prices went up.
However, Asda have stepped forward and confirmed a new national price cap for unleaded petrol of 114.7p a litre, which is over 5p less than the national average, and set a price cap of 116.7p per litre for diesel.
For a standard family car, the 2p cut represents a saving of around £1.10.
The new price cuts will come into effect from Tuesday, March 14 at Asda’s 301 petrol stations throughout the country, with fuel prices differing across the UK as it does at their rivals’ forecourts.
However, Asda is the only supermarket to set a national price cap.
Both Morrisons and Tesco responded to Asda’s announcement by saying they too will be cutting the price of fuel by 2p a litre as of this morning (Tuesday, March 14) at all of their forecourts.
Sainsbury’s on the other hand, have so far refused to react to Asda’s price cuts but have said that their prices are subject to constant review.
“This is the perfect spring gift for motorists to go with longer days and warmer weather. No doubt other retailers will follow suit and we will see prices on every forecourt come down,” said RAC Fuel Spokesman Simon Williams.
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