Tesco joins Asda in fuel price cut

SUPERMARKETS Asda and Tesco have provided some autumn cheer for motorists by reducing their fuel prices.

First, Asda announced that from Tuesday it would be knocking 2p a litre off the price of its petrol and 1p a litre off diesel.

Then Tesco said it would be reducing its petrol "by up to 2p per litre" and cutting its diesel by 1p a litre - also from Tuesday.

Asda said its reductions would mean no one will pay more than 131.7p a litre for its petrol, with diesel coming down to 137.7p a litre.

The reductions follow a 2p cut in petrol and a 1p cut in diesel announced by Asda last week.

The cuts were welcomed by the RAC and the AA.

Pete Williams, the RAC's head of external affairs, said: "This is exactly the action we wanted to see as a result of the drop in wholesale prices that has taken place over the past couple of weeks.

"We are now looking for other retailers to follow suit so that motorists benefit wherever they buy their fuel and we expect this to happen over the next few days."

He went on: "Now more than ever, motorists are struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis due to the cost of running a car so every reduction in price at the pump makes a big difference. Current analysis of wholesale prices indicates there is still scope for retailers to pass on reductions of at least 5p a litre in petrol and 2p a litre in diesel over the next two weeks."

Andy Peake, Asda's petrol trading director, said: "Our national price cap on fuel benefits everyone across the country, meaning that no one filling up at Asda is forced to pay a premium for their fuel because of where they live."

By Press Association reporters