Pressure eases on motorists at last
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After months of pain at the pumps there is good news for Britain’s motorists. A price war has broken out after Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons all announced cheaper petrol.
Asda and Sainsbury’s said they would slash their petrol prices to 94.9p a litre. Tesco and Morrisons then said they would reduce their prices, while petrol company Total will also follow suit.
The supermarkets have already joined battle on the issue of forecourt prices on several occasions.
Sainsbury is supporting its announcement with a promotion offering an extra 5p off if customers spend £50 in store. This could mean customers spend less than 90p a litre on fuel for the first time since April 2007.
Meanwhile, Asda has said it will freeze prices in all of its 172 forecourts for 10 days, whatever the fluctuations in crude oil prices. A litre of its petrol will now cost 94.9p, while its diesel will be 107.9p.
However, some observers claim that supermarkets can afford to sell petrol at a loss to try and win customers into their stores, a luxury which independent fuel retailers cannot afford.
Several consumer groups welcomed the news, with AA president Edmund King saying the cuts had come at just the right time.
Supermarkets resumed their price war after the price of oil started heading downwards, putting pressure on them to react by cutting their own prices.
The price of oil has continued to slide, despite warnings by producers’ cartel Opec that it could cut production rates to stabilise prices. The RMI Petrol Retailers Association warned prices could rise in the near future, but said they would come down again.
(Apologies for the lack of posts over the last week, I have been having connection problems. Normal service has been resumed.
