Supermarket giant Asda confirmed this morning (26th September) that they have reduced their national price cap on unleaded by two pence a litre, bringing it down to 126.7ppl. Morrisons were quick to follow and announced that they were cutting unleaded on all forecourts by up to two pence a litre. Sainsbury’s have also hopped on the bandwagon, and from Friday 28th September will be cutting unleaded by up to 2p a litre. Late on Wednesday afternoon, Tesco announced that they too would be cutting the cost of unleaded by up to 2p a litre.
This national price cap means that petrol drivers can expect to pay no more than 126.7ppl in Asda forecourts from the 26th September, a welcome relief from the sky-high prices we have seen recently, which are the highest in four years. For Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury’s customers, a welcome maximum two pence a litre drop will also help to ease the burden.
What started the price war?
A drop in the cost of wholesale has meant that supermarkets, who are often the quickest to respond to drops, are able to cut prices drastically overnight. While oil prices are still rising the wholesale cost has dropped, and the response from brands is a positive way of passing on the savings.
Asda was first to announce a drop on Wednesday 26th in the morning, and their cut took immediate effect, Morrisons came in a close second, with an announcement shortly after. The Morrisons cut kicked in on Thursday 27th along with the Tesco cut, and Sainsbury’s the day after with their drop starting on the 28th of September (Friday).
In the last twelve months, eight of them have seen a rise in the cost of filling up. At the end of August, the prices hit a four year high with the average litre of unleaded costing 130.2ppl and the average litre of diesel costing 132.8ppl. While this is mostly unchanged at the end of September, with the modal average litre at 129.9ppl for unleaded and 133.9ppl for diesel, the prices are still high compared to this time last year. In September last year, the average litre of unleaded was 119.3ppl, and the average litre of diesel was 120ppl.
The price of oil dropped to $71 a barrel in Mid-August, and it seems these savings have finally been passed down to the motorist.
Response from supermarkets
Data from the PetrolPrices database, dated 25th September 2018, shows that the average price for supermarket brands nationwide is in line with the national average, but some are much lower.
Asda’s modal average price on the 25th September was 126.7ppl, showing their price cap starting early, Sainsbury’s were a few pence behind at 129.9ppl, and then Morrisons and Tesco brought up the rear at 130.9ppl.
Asda’s Senior Fuel Buyer, Dave Tyrer, said: “Today’s latest move shows that Asda is once again cutting the cost of filling up for motorists following a decrease in the wholesale costs on unleaded. Our new national price cap of 126.7ppl will be welcomed by the millions of drivers across the UK who has seen prices rise by 10 pence per litre since the start of summer and are currently at their highest for five years.”
Ashley Myers, Head of Fuel at Morrisons, said: “We always try to keep our fuel prices as low as we can, and far below the UK average.”
Karen O’Connor, Category Manager for Sainsbury’s, said: “We are committed to helping our customers live well for less whether they’re stocking up on groceries or refuelling their cars and that’s why we’re dropping the price of unleaded petrol from Friday. Whether in-store or at the pumps, customers know they will get fantastic value with Sainsbury’s.”
Tesco has confirmed a price cut of up to 2p a litre that came into effect 27th September, and did not pass on an official comment.
At the moment, the longevity of this price cut is uncertain. The cheaper oil at the end of August going into the beginning of September rose steeply afterwards and with it now sitting at around $80 a barrel, it is unlikely that this drop will remain around for a sustained period of time.
If you’re lucky enough to need a fill up as payday approaches, then you are in luck. The price cuts should all be in full effect, so if you’re not picky about fuel, then use our map search to find a supermarket near you.
What about diesel?
Currently, no supermarkets are cutting the price of diesel, as the wholesale price of diesel hasn’t dropped, instead continuing to rise. If you’re a diesel driver, then you will unfortunately not benefit from the supermarket price war, but hopefully, there will eventually be some slight relief.
If you are a diesel driver, here’s a couple of tips to make your tank last a bit longer:
Keep your engine revolutions low by changing up gears early. You’ll lose speed fast if you let the engine labour. Try to keep the engine speed in the ideal fuel-efficient spot.
Don’t use your air conditioning unless you must. It uses the power of the engine which increases fuel consumption.
Ensure that your car is operating at peak performance. A 10% drop in tyre pressure can affect the efficiency of the tyre and rolling-resistance, leading to a decrease in MPG. Equally, a dirty air filter can have a dramatic effect on fuel usage – some experts claim that replacing a dirty air filter could improve your mileage by as much as 10%.
Are you glad that the prices are dropping? Will this help you out? Let us know below
I’m concerned that this may be a Government backed initiative in order for Hammond to announce an increase in duty in the forthcoming budget at the end of October.
Yeah, and blame it on Brexit.
nothing to do with brexit, just government policy (tax those that can pay the least to feed those that can afford the most)
govement not worried peteralprice they doant have to pay for fuel letshave may out
let the rich like beckham pay high and give the working man a chance doant believe he should get of for speeding should be summonsed like you or me
John boy, I think another year or two at school in a spelling class may do you a favour. Sorry are you still at school (primary). If you could get off with speeding wouldn’t you take it?
If Mrs May were indeed ousted as P.M. Do you really think that the above painfully left wing, communist, terrorist supporting idiot, in so called charge of the labour party would do anything other than roll over and give this country to whoever wants it. Myself and others didn’t serve so that could happen.
Don’t think they have spelling lessons at pre-school do they?
Good grief. The Daily Mail has done a good job on you hasn’t it?
moggie63 didn’t CLAIM it would be Brexit to blame, simply that it would be a good excuse.
MOGGIE you are a imbecile
Mike, the word is ‘an’, not ‘a’.
did you read the article of just look at the headline?
$80 a barrel is still less than it was 12 months ago.
That crossed my mind when I first heard about the wholesale price dropping some days ago. anow we can expect everything else to rise in price.
THAT is the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard. Firstly the Government couldn’t force private companies to do such a thing and secondly they have ALREADY indicated the end of the freeze on excise duty on fuel as part of paying for the increased funding in NHS
Love the info you pass on, it’s so helpful, thank you.
I note that the Price War is only on Petrol, no mention of Diesel Prices. I fillled up on Tuesday at Tesco Nailsea at £125.9 per ltr which is cheaper than any Petrol Prices anywhere on your list.
Hi Ernest, I’m sure the decimal place / £ symbol was incorrectly added, but I’d be crying blood if I was to pay £125.9 per ltr ;-).
I totally agree with you. See my post above. Sadly this site has no facility to edit one’ post. So my glaring errors are as follows: I spelt U.K. wrong and it should have read £.1.26- £1.27 pence per Ltr Diesel
At least my next car will be all electric 100% charged from home solar – removing oil altogether from motoring costs
Dave…..they’ll still find a way to tax it.
Then I’ll get an ebike 😉
But we’ll not see political moves bump prices up exponentially overnight if petrol wasn’t so imperative to running our vehicles.
The price of petrol is governed by supply which can drop at a minutes notice.
The petrol/diesel tax together with our road tax goes into the government koffers! Which is very lucrative for them. Now I wonder what will happen when that all dries up? I believe this is just posturing by the politicians to gain points from the (environmental parties) then once in a position for deciding policies they change their position once again to allow vehicles (diesels/petrol) and lower the costs to the consumer!
Once we all go electric…watch the energy prices rise!
Not a lot they do for ‘homemade’ solar power …maybe add in a battery bank in the future too so I store when I’m driving 🙂
Dave we have solar panels as well, and you will not generate enough in winter to charge your car, or in the cool months of Autumn/Spring
Even with ~15Kw of panels all going into the car ?
If you’ve worked out all the sums and are confident that a 15Kw solar installation will produce enough for your needs then best of luck to you I say!
You mentioned a battery bank too. You’ll certainly need one if you’re not going to be feeding into the grid in order to cover yourself for winter/cloudy days.
Indeed, >100Kw of battery bank and >15Kw solar. Not bothered and FIT’s. E7 IF the bank gets to low (<35%) also I drive less in the winter. What energy 'left over' can go into a ground source heat pump heating my house.
http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/tools.html is a nice guide…
Ian – how do you know Dave’s expected usage pattern? How do you know the Kw size of his potential installation? Why are you so defeatist?
To use your own words – “I am surprised at the number of people who open their gob without thinking first”.
Bad show that diesel prices stay unaltered, but in all honesty who will notice the difference of £1 per tankful? Who runs around with a full tank anyway and why drive possibly miles out of their way to save less than £1. Makes no sense whatsoever.
I agree £1 is not a big issue but must confess I do fill up to full once I get to quarter full.
Makes sense just in case of emergency.
I use to fill up a tank to full. But since the price has become extortionate I put £10 to £15 now. If I am doing a long trip I will fill up to full at my cheapest station which is 5miles away. So yes I am one that will drive a little more distance to get 2p to 3p of a ltr,
If you cannot afford fuel WHY own a vehicle Stop moaning everything goes up in price one time or another
I sincerely hope you never have the misfortune of an injury, causing a disability, that costs you your job and as a result meaning your car is your only means of going any distance from your home.
I do not drive great distances (max 25 miles to take my son to see his grandparents) but as public transport is virtually non existent in our area. A car is a necessity so on a reduced income these rises have more effect on people. That is why a site like this is so helpful I use the cheapest garage on the route I am traveling and those pennies do add up.
p.s. the first sentence is called sarcasm probably way above your intellect.
Good on you Bladeonstix my wife is also disabled and I am surprised at the number of people who open their gob without thinking first.
Ian Whittles, this is clearly an emotive subject for you, do you wish to elaborate?
Bishbut…I totally agree with you but, a comment like yours will be taken as trolling by the disabled or people who live in the middle of the countryside who then cry on about about lack of public transport and how owning a car is my only option.
Bottom line is, no matter who you are or whatever your situation, owning a car is your personal choice and running costs are to be expected.
yes we have already had at least 3 brexit rises on most things and still don’t Know what they are
proposing after at least 2 years sitting on their hands,minds in neutral.
I am by profession a photographer and also a compliance manager. Before you write b’s**t about petrol prices make sure that your facts are 2000% correct. I ALREADY pay only £1.26 / £2.27 @ the ASDA filling Stn in Chertsey RD Staines Middlesex ( outer London) United Kingdom per ltr for DIESEL So go back to these supermarket D’heads and come back to us with the truth from them. Last time ASDA tried this price war in MAY 2018 none of the other Supermarkets followed suit. Do you know that this cosy cartel of Supermarkets deliver fuel to each other via tankers so eg., Morrison’s deliver to Tesco etc. They also deliver milk and Yogurt of the Organic nature to each other. If you want cheap fuel go to a Morrison’s no I won’t tell you where it is in mid Derbyshire UK They do not advertise the price because it is much less than £1.26 per ltr unleaded. So now you know.
As a Compliance Officer you must be an intelligent chap, so it is disappointing to see that you haven’t quite grasped that the article is talking about ‘Price Caps’, i.e. the maximum price that the brand will charge. Prices can obviously vary from station to station, and will often be under the cap, this ultimately is why websites/services like this one exist.
Alan Heathcote: Are you stating that the price range per litre of diesel that you buy is from £1.26 to £2.27 ? The latter figure is incredibly high. I suspect you mean a price range per litre of diesel from £1. 26 to £1.27. If so you should also check the so-called facts you type are correct just as you argue others should.
The last thing to do is run a modern diesel at low revs and change up early!! You need to keep it above 2000 rpm (hopefully a longish run) or you DPF will quickly block up – and long term will cost more to repair/ replace than a few pence saved on fuel!
Give me a break…. why has ASDA Harpurhey, just put “ANOTHER” 1p on the price. If thats a cut Im a dutchman!
How’s your dike doing? BTW, do you wear clogs?
he’s got a lesbien ?
That’s so they can reduce the price next week conning people into believing they’re doing you a favour.
2ppl is a “drastic cut”? What PLANET are these people living on???
Ok Petrol down 2p litre
Now what’s happening to DIESEL prices, no comments from the major players on this ??
The problem is the “UP TO 2p per litre reduction” statement, which means the forecourt managers can simply leave the prices as they are, which is what happened in this area last time there was an ‘UP TO…’ price drop. Then less than a week later it went UP by 2p per litre!
Where are the diesel cheapest stations
Esso bootle 129.9 cheaper than supermarket and better quality fuel and by the my unleaded is 125.9
Copied here from Morrison’s.Answer-.Ashley Myers, Head of Fuel at Morrisons, said: “We always try to keep our fuel prices as low as we can, and far below the UK average.”..WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH in Port Talbot..Morrisons and Tesco stick together and their fuel prices are always higher than Neath and Jersey Marine petrol stations plus surrounding areas..They are the first to put up fuel prices….In My protest I fill up at Sarn services Sainsbury’s diesel 7p cheaper and Llansamlet Asda the same..Shop around its worth it…Even the Petrol station next to the old Plaza cinema is 3p cheaper on diesel…Avoid Morrisons and Tesco whom you noticed declined to answer to questions?🤓
Sainsbury’s in Bridgend South Wales their diesel has been £123.9 for many weeks. Ok it’s about 30 miles away from my house but having to pass there at least once a week I have saved quite a lot of money. Called there today and the price has gone up to £125.9 a litre so now I know why. On Friday they are cutting the price of petrol by 2p a litre so the increase in diesel pays for the cut in the petrol. The price of diesel in my local Tesco is 132.9 a litre so even with the increase I am still saving 7p a litre.
As a very long term diesel user I am comletely fed up with the lying propaganda war of the government , demonising disel fuel which is in fact far more ecological and efficient than petrol , which btw it is a bi product of , which makes one query the drop in petrol but not in diesel , have they found a way to produce petrol without without diesel ?
More efficient is true mostly but in small capacity engines the reverse is true, but more environmentally friendly I question that. Just because diesels put out less co2, which recent studies have suggested might not be so true in real world scenarios they do kick out much more of the real nasty stuff…. Simply due to their sooty nature and lean burn design, 24/1 might be brilliant for your pocket and co2 (in theory) but it’s mainly crap for the environment.
Have the found a way of making diesel without making engine oils first? Etc etc. All products come out of the same distillation towers, heavy oils at the bottom, gasses at the top.
Tom, petrol is not a bi product of diesel. Petrol is one fraction of crude oil while diesel is another, heavier fraction. It’s actually cheaper to produce a litre of diesel from crude than it is petrol, which is why diesel always used to be cheaper than petrol. Then some spawn-of-the-devil bright spark pointed out to government that if you chemically “crack” a litre of diesel, you get more than a litre of petrol, so government said, Oh, well, in that case diesel should cost proportionately that petrol. The rest of history and another rip-off of the motorist.
This isn’t a price war, it’s political posturing…
Super market fuel is a bit risky to use look what happened people were using Tesco petrol and Morrisons were conking out dodgy fuel but diesel price hasn’t dropped but saying that getting much better mpg than my old petrol car any way what ever the price they know people will pay they got drivers by the short and curlys
Just looked at my mileage in the last year and I’ve done 2630 miles in the last 12 months. So at 52.5 MPG that’s roughly £300 so a few pence difference either way UP or DOWN
Morrisons….dream on. You’re 6ppl more then Asda Sainsburys & Tesco near me. No reason for it.
About normal, after the government promoting diesel cars and lots of people who bought one, myself included we now get ripped off for diesel which only seems to go up and doesn’t come down, which I find incredibly annoying.
What I don’t understand is how my local Morrison’s can charge £1.32.9 ppl and I go 16 miles down the road to work and the Morrison’s there is only charging £1.29.7ppl and that’s in a more affluent area than where I live! Supermarkets probably buy in bulk regardless of what area the shop and fuel station is in so why don’t All Morrison’s sell fuel at the same price?
The morrisons in Seaford is more expensive than the eastbourne morrisons about 8 miles apart
I agree with what you say. In Thanet fuel is 6p cheaper than the same name station 20 or so miles away. There doesn’t seem seem to be any reason for this.
We need to produce more Bio Diesel
So the waste Oil from Fast Food Restaurants and Chip shops can be put to good use.
Smells nice as well.
Not so much of the Nitrous Oxide either.
Of course. It means I can use the car without having to count the cost.
I would be more impressed if the supermarkets around me, in Oxfordshire had not increased their prices by upto 2p a litre just before they have announced this price drop.
It should be made illegal for petrol stations showing prices .7 pence
THERE IS NO SUCH BRITISH CURRENCY LESS THAN A PENNY, POINT ANYTHING–ALL CURRENCY IS IN WHOLE PENCE
It’s either £1.26 or £1.29 etc there’s no such thing as 0.9 of a penny this rubbish should be stopped immediately. Whole pence there are no fractions, 1/2 p coins went out years ago.
You are of course correct about the 1/2 p coin but to say that there is no such thing as a fraction of a penny is baffling.
If I can produce 20 widgets for 10p what would be the average production price per widget?
Good point. If I buy 20.5 litres at 121.7 per litre equals £25.885 so do they charge me £2.88 or £24.89? This may seem petty but over millions of litres sold it is a lot of money.
Tony, neither, 20.5L at 121.7p per litre totals 2494.85p (or £24.9485). The bounds of currency means you can’t charge a fraction of a penny, even though simple mathematics proves it still exists, so it would be rounded to £24.95.
Interestingly, if the same fuel was charged at 122p per litre, in order to make it easier for some people understand, it would cost a total of £25.01. Only pennies difference but on the millions of litres sold it would all add up.
*Whispers* The entire stock market deals in fractions of a pence.
The stock market is not a retail outlet. Most petrol stations have prices nnn.9 pence per litre. This is a ridiculous con. Asda seem to try to be a bit different by cutting 0.2 p off to nnn.7. No fractions should be allowed, it just confuses your memory when you are trying to compare.
HuttonFrank, where is the con? By calculating the price of fuel to the fraction of a penny the customer will only ever pay either the same price as if the price were rounded up to the nearest penny or less than if the were rounded up to the nearest penny.
Retail outlet or otherwise is irrelevant. Stocks and shares trading is entirely accessible to the public and deals in fractions of a penny. Do you want then to change that too?
I’ll assume you added the sentence about fractions being confusing for dramatic effect. My 5 year old knows that 0.9 is greater than 0.7.
£0.007 per litre is £0.07 per 10 litres so you do make a saving if you top up more than 10 litres
William – Your calculation of £0.007 x 10 = £0.07 is of course correct, well done. Unfortunately your suggestion that the saving (presumably against the price being in full pennies) starts when you buy more than 10 litres shows limited understanding and I’m putting that politely.
Still I’m not down voting your comment because it shows how amazingly gullible some people are…they read it on the internet, so it must be true. You’ll have people all over the country topping up in 10.01 litre measures.
You are aware your agreement against prices being .9 etc. is total nonsense given you do not purchase petrol in whole litre denominations. If let’s say you purchased 10.723 litres of fuel at 127.9p per litre that would cost you £13.714717 therefore you would be charged £13.71. Similarly though, if you purchased the same 10.723 litres at 128p per litre that would cost you £13.72544 therefore you would be charged £13.73. Yes £13.73 is more than £13.71, but in the second example the price per litre was more expensive so what would you expect
Mike M: Would you prefer fuel price per litre to be rounded up so that you pay more ? What is so special anyway about the volume unit called the ‘litre’, it was only a few decades ago that the gallon was the volume unit normally used in the UK for pricing of petrol and diesel and, indeed even today many of us in the UK think of a vehicle’s fuel economy in terms of miles per gallon. I am not advocating a return to pricing being displayed as a cost per gallon but merely pointing out that there is nothing special about the litre and therefore how the price per litre is displayed.
Your remark might make more sense if you bought one litre at a time or were obliged to buy an integer number of litres per visit at a fuel station but as it stands I regard your comment as stupid.
This is really penalising diesel drivers as diesel is cheaper to produce than petrol it’s so unfair.
Doesn’t apply to me I have a diesel car, which is very economical even with air conditioning on.
Doesn’t apply to me, I have a diesel car, very economical even with air conditioning on.
Vilifying and ripping off the diesel driver again.
I still cannot understand why diesel is cheaper than petrol in most of the EU than in the UK.an somebody tell me.
Tesco at Arnold Notts today –
123.9ppl. !!!’
Tesco at Arnold, Notts today –
123.9ppl
I might be a bit slow, but I have just realised why the government is deamonising diesel cars. Diesel do more mpg than petrol, so less fuel is burned, so less taxation revenue.Its nothing to do with particulates, it’s taxes.Petrol engines give out just as many, but different pollutants than Diesel engines.
I read these articles and comments but I feel it is a waste of time because we the customer have no really say or action over the pricing anyways . Gone the days of picket lines and protests against the injustice the government and the big ripe off companies are doing. Let’s not forget they put the fuel up for no good reason even when I read on this site that the price of fuel per barrel was low at one point it the past so where
is the Ofsted for fair pricing for this? All know is that, the people living in the UK don’t care but what we do very well is MOAN MOAN AND MOAN!! without action .
In my area I see it to often let’s say its £1.25 for fuel and less then half a mile away it’s 1.30 but don’t it make sense for drivers to boycott the £1.30 price by making a active statement you will see over a short period of time that petrol stations will drop it’s prices ( it can’t afford not too) but let’s face it fuel is fuel and there is really no different between them so don’t buy into their bulls**t that the company’s like shell bp etc are better fuel.
So we all have to act and make a difference stop using the higher price stations and move on we ain’t all that stupid, are we ?
Not happy at all what about diesel,is this Boewng down to the government trying to get. Rid of diesel cars
Shocking.
This I genuinelt believe is yet another ‘con’. For example a few days prior to this announcement a certain brand in Bridgend raised its petrol at the pump price by 2p. Then a few days later as in your release lo and behold they are to lower the price …….by 2p. Where is the sense in that judgement? It is no drop in fuel duty and price it is simply prices remaining the same. Remember too Government will be laughing as usual at the motorist. Drivers will be paying two taxes..the excise duty and on top VAT? What value is the Motorist
receiving? Nothing at all…as expected. Sheer greed tax them as high as we can attitude. Government has to learn there will come a time when the motoring public will be pushed too far, then they will fight back. People do have power to change things, and I feel that is not too far away. People need to unite and show the Government especially this Chancellor enough is enough, either drop the excise duty considerably, or out of office asap.
Diesel rip off
Diesel rip off.
Why don’t you compare Costco fuel prices? They are lower than the local supermarkets
It was 125.7p per litre in Asda on Monday, so that is a 1p increase, not a 2p decrease in price.
I have the email from PetrolPrices.com on Monday morning saying Asda was the cheapest at 125.7p/l. I also have an Asda receipt showing that price when I filled up on the way home.
I’ve been buying diesel from Asda Thirmaston Leicester regularly at 124.7
Asda Superstore, Jewel Edinburgh on Monday, 28.7 per litre
Asda Tranent, 27.7 per litre (this is About 5 miles from the Jewel) a much smaller garage
Margaret: I think you mean prices of 128.7 p per litre and 127.7 p per litre respectively at the two fuel stations you mentioned. Incidentally, you did not specify whether the prices you quoted were for petrol or diesel.
Sainsbury’s on the Bath road in Chippenham Wilts at 0900 this morning (28 Sept 18) still had the old price they have had all week of 126.9p per litre. They like to milk the motorist before they put it down.
You should always leave air con systems switched on as the refrigerant carries the system lubricant which, among other things, stops the extremely expensive compressor (at least £2500) from seizing up .
No benefit to me so not happy. Diesel should be reduced as well, unleaded seems to be the way to go nowadays it was always just below the diesel price when it should have been the other way around from what we all were told. Government just making more money from the people who believed them that diesel would be cheaper.
Price cut? Not where I live. Tescos is the most expensive and Sainsburys is only a penny cheaper. Neither have dropped their prices in recent weeks and the cheapest continues to be a small independent, just outside town, which is 2p less than Sainsburys.
Tesco continues to profiteer and be non-competive for all the essentials.
I get increasingly frustrated with diesel prices. If you use bio, it throws the car in limp mode and puts the engine management light on. Which is such a shame as car manufacturers play right into the hands of big oil companies.
Considering we have to meet some green target you would think the government would back consumers in swapping but hey thats life.
Hi Good Afternoon,
and thank you for your Message concerning petrol price drop as I use my car every day to get to Hospital
for my appointments, it Helps a lot.
Thank you, Mr MS,, Thompson
Did i miss the drop in diesel fuel?
Still 130.4 at my local Sainsburys this evening. Only reduced by 0.5p!
Same here. Sainsbury’s Leven have reduced petrol by 0.5.p.
Yes a whole half a penny. Now costs £1.29.04p. So that’s the upto 2p per litre off they were saying they would pass on……..