Second supermarket cuts fuel prices amid drop in wholesale costs

A second supermarket giant is cutting fuel prices following a reduction in wholesale costs.

Sainsbury’s announced on Wednesday it will drop its prices by up to 3p per litre for diesel and 2p per litre for petrol.

This followed a similar move by Asda on Tuesday.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said the cuts were reminiscent of March, with prices falling “just at the point when we’re all driving less as a result of a coronavirus lockdown”.

But he is not expecting prices to go as low as during the first lockdown, when a litre of petrol dropped below £1 with some retailers.

He went on: “Any driver needing to fill up later in November should be greeted by the sight of lower prices, if retailers do the right thing.

“There is perhaps a cruel irony for motorists here in that the route to cheaper prices is cheaper oil, yet the main reason the oil price is lower is because so many of us across the world aren’t travelling.”

At the beginning of the week the average price of petrol at UK forecourts was £1.13 per litre, with diesel at £1.18 per litre, according to Government data.

RAC analysis published on Wednesday found that average UK fuel prices were “virtually static” in October despite wholesale costs for petrol and diesel falling by 5p per litre.

It also claimed that diesel has been “over-priced for nearly two months”, with average prices dropping by just a fraction of a penny in October.

Mr Williams continued: “We’re concerned some retailers may choose to only cut by a few pence, or not at all, which would be bad news for drivers, especially as we don’t anticipate the roads will be as quiet as during the first lockdown.”