BREAKING: Supermarkets slash petrol and diesel prices by up to 3p a litre

After a long hard six months, drivers are finally starting to see some relief at the pumps, and this time it’s not just for those who drive a petrol car, diesel drivers are experiencing relief of up to 3p a litre across supermarkets.

“Dropped like a stone”

On the 15th of November, at 8:45 am, the RAC released a statement calling for retailers to cut their pump prices. Oil prices have dropped to $65 a barrel since the 16th of October, where prices sat at $81 a barrel. The wholesale price of petrol and diesel has also dropped considerably for unleaded, and more recently for diesel as well.

The end of concerns of oversupply has caused the falling oil price onto the markets; last time oversupply happened we witnessed the $100 a barrel costs in mid-late 2014.

Competition between heating oil and diesel has led to the high diesel prices we see currently, although now the oil price has fallen, drivers should experience relief over the next coming months.

Simon Williams of the RAC said “Put simply, the big retailers have not gone nearly far enough in cutting prices at the pumps, despite the fact the cost of buying the fuel on the wholesale market has dropped like a stone… While the pound has weakened slightly against the dollar, which means it costs a little more for retailers to purchase fuel in the first place, this hasn’t been enough to offset the collapse in the oil price and means there is tremendous pressure for some significant price cuts at forecourts. “

Cuts announced

Sainsburys, Morrisons and Tesco have all announced cuts of up to 3p a litre across all their forecourts, with Asda going one step further and announcing price caps across all forecourts.

Sainsbury’s have a 3p a litre cut coming into effect from Saturday 17th November across all UK forecourts. David Pegg, Fuel buying Manager for Sainsbury’s, said: “We are committed to helping our customers live well for less and this is why we have decided to lower fuel prices for the second time in two weeks. As of Saturday 17 November, both petrol and diesel prices will be reduced by up to 3 pence per litre. Customers know that when they shop at Sainsbury’s they can fill not only their trolleys but also their cars at fantastic value.”

Morrisons are introducing their nationwide cuts from Friday 16th November. Ashley Myers, Morrisons Head of Fuel, said: “With oil prices continuing to fall, we can now make the second big cut in fuel prices in November.”

Tesco is also bringing in the drops from Friday 16th November, with Tesco’s buying manager for fuel, Rodger Beer, commenting, “We’re cutting the price of fuel in our petrol stations to help our customers save money by shopping at Tesco.”

Asda has announced a nationwide price cap which came into effect on the 15th of November (Thursday). Asda’s Senior Fuel Buyer, Dave Tyrer, said: ” Our new national price cap of 119.7ppl on unleaded and 131.7ppl on diesel will be welcomed by the millions of drivers across the UK. Further decreases in the wholesale market mean we are able to reduce our prices again, seeing our unleaded price dropped by up to 8ppl in just under two weeks.”

Just in time for Christmas

While it may be slightly early for some to start thinking about the festive season, these drops do mean that those who struggle for cash in the holiday season will feel some relief. Petrol prices have been the highest since late 2014, so the cuts announced by supermarkets will bring the prices down, and if the oil price continues to drop, or stabilises, we should be able to see some relief in the long term for all motorists.

Ashley Beach, Data Analyst “This time last month the average price of unleaded in the UK was at the highest it has been all year at 131.74ppl. Luckily for those driving unleaded vehicles, this has dropped significantly by 3.14ppl to 128.6ppl as of the 14th of November.

As for those driving diesel vehicles, unfortunately, things aren’t looking any different and the price as of the 14th of November was only 0.4ppl less than this time last month. Moreover, throughout the previous month, the average price of diesel has only fluctuated by 0.4ppl either side of its mean, so there has been no significant change, but hopefully, the cuts announced this morning will amount to something.”

Apart from downloading the PetrolPrices app, there are more ways you can save money on fuel.

Look out for supermarkets near you, as shown above, they are quicker to react to price drops and pass on savings quicker. The age-old myth of supermarket fuel being worse than oil retailer fuel is incorrect. The UK has very tight regulations on the fuel at the pump, and the minimum octane number for unleaded is so much higher than US regulations, and most cars, aside from race cars and road legal race cars, will not be damaged at all by the octane numbers at supermarket forecourts. The same applies to diesel, and minimum regulations guarantee good quality of fuel.

Watch out for special offers at stations through loyalty schemes or minimum spends as they can offer considerable discounts on fuel or rewards in return.

What does this price drop mean for you? Do you think retailers should drop prices further as the wholesale price drops? Let us know below