Supermarkets slash petrol prices
British motorists were celebrating today as they discovered that petrol prices had been cut again in many filling stations.
The cost of unleaded fuel has dropped by two pence at many forecourts as a price war breaks out between the major supermarket chains.
Sainsbury’s, Asda and Safeway all announced a cut of 2p, bringing the price of unleaded petrol to 69.9p.
The price cuts came after Morrisons supermarket chain slashed the cost of unleaded petrol by two pence at its filling stations to 69.9p a litre - the lowest level at its filling stations for more than two years.
The fresh round of cuts comes after prices were slashed last week in response to the worldwide plunge in oil prices following the US terrorist attacks.
Phil Maud, Morrisons petrol filling stations controller, said: ‘‘The cost of crude oil has fallen and we are ensuring our customers reap the benefit by passing on the saving at the petrol pumps.’’
A spokeswoman for Safeway said the price cut of 2p a litre was implemented following the Morrisons announcement.
She said customers who spend £40 or more in the store qualified for a further 5p-a-litre cut - making it possible to save a ‘‘massive’’ seven pence a litre.
Sainsbury’s said unleaded fuel would cost 69.9p a litre in all its stores from midnight last night - a two pence cut on the average price of 71.9p.
Asda said its similar price cut would by implemented from today.
A spokesman said: ‘‘Some of our stations may be lower than that, of course, but that is the maximum.
‘‘It will apply at all stations, even those in more remote areas.’’
A Tesco spokeswoman said: ‘‘We won’t be beaten on price locally because we want our customers to know that when they come into a Tesco they are getting the best price locally for their petrol.’’
This policy was echoed at BP, where a spokeswoman said: ‘‘Our position is that we will match any local pricing, so we will look to any local market movement.
‘‘We led the price decrease in terms of being the first oil company to bring its price down by two pence a litre (of unleaded) last week.’’
She added that many of its 1,500 service stations were already selling unleaded fuel at 69.9p a litre, although the average price was 73.5p.
At Esso, a spokeswoman said that on Tuesday the company’s typical price for a litre of unleaded petrol was 71.9 pence, with a small number of outlets selling at 69.9p.
Esso’s price watch pledge meant it monitored the fuel prices of supermarkets within a three-mile radius of Esso stations and those of other outlets within a mile.
She added: ‘‘Typically speaking, if a supermarket does move its prices, in accordance with the scheme, three of our sites will move.’’
The Petrol Retailers Association welcomed the cut as good for consumers, but warned: ‘‘The market in petrol is very, very volatile and it goes up as often as it goes down at the moment.’’
