Tesco stole a march on its major supermarket rivals this morning by announcing it is to cut the cost of petrol and diesel by 2ppl at all of its petrol stations this afternoon.

If the usual pattern is followed Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s will announce similar fuel price cuts within hours.

Peter Cattell, fuel director for Tesco said: “We know many of our customers will be driving to spend time with their mothers this Sunday. So to provide a little extra help we’re cutting the cost of petrol and diesel by two pence per litre at all of our 500 filling stations.”

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “The wholesale price of fuel has fallen in the last fortnight so it’s good to see this being quickly passed on by retailers. We were at the point where motorists should have been starting to feel aggrieved that pump prices were higher than they ought to be.

“The last thing retailers need is for the public’s trust in their pricing policies to be undermined. We strongly urge other retailers – large and small – to follow suit and bring the price of petrol and diesel down around the country.

 “Wholesale prices have come down by 2ppl as a result of the cost of a barrel of oil reducing to the $50 mark for the last two weeks combined with a boost in the value of the pound against the dollar. Despite oil production cuts implemented by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and several other oil producing nations there continues to be a glut of crude oil which is good news for drivers.”