Asda has admitted a claim it made about fuel price cuts was incorrect after queries from Forecourt Trader.
In a press release the supermarket giant claimed that from today it was now offering its lowest price on diesel for 18 months, at 133.7ppl. However, Forecourt Trader pointed out that just over two months ago, on October 30, 2013, it announced it was capping diesel at the same 133.7ppl.
An Asda spokesperson admitted: “Diesel held at around 133.7ppl in October for a few days, which unfortunately was missed when we ran the data.”
However she defended another claim that Asda had cut up to 2ppl off its fuel prices, even though the unleaded price of 126.7ppl is identical to the last time it announced a cut, on December 18, and diesel is only 1ppl lower than the December 18 price. She said: “Fuel prices are constantly fluctuating on both unleaded and diesel, so it has increased since the last drop.”
Andy Peake, Asda’s petrol trading director, said: “Our commitment to customers is to always be the last retailer to raise petrol prices and the first to drop them. And our track record proves that when it comes to getting the best deal at the pump drivers should always choose an Asda forecourt. A short window in October saw prices fall on diesel to 133.7ppl but we are confident that Asda can hold these prices down longer in a volatile oil market.
“With customer finances tighter than ever, other retailers should follow Asda’s lead by dropping fuel prices when prices are falling. Clearly our preference would be that everyone charged a national price for fuel when it drops, that way drivers would be treated as equals regardless of where they live. As it stands though, most of our rivals hide behind local pricing policies, which in our view take advantage of drivers unlucky enough not to have an Asda nearby.”
The latest price changes came into effect today and shortly after they were announced Tesco said it too was cutting up 2ppl off its fuel prices today.
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