Another round of fuel price cuts begins as supermarkets rush to make announcements about their plans in time for the weekend.

From tomorrow Asda customers will see a cut of up to 2ppl off the company’s national price cap on unleaded at 116.7ppl and diesel at 127.77ppl. This is Asda’s fifth price drop since October 26 , cutting the price of unleaded fuel by 11ppl and diesel by 7ppl in that time.

Asda’s senior fuel buyer, Dave Tyrer, said: "With Christmas just around the corner, we’re pleased we can do our bit to make our customers’ hard-earned cash go a little further. Our new national price cap of 116.7ppl on unleaded and 127.7ppl on diesel will be welcomed by the millions of drivers across the country and put money back in their pockets.”

Asda’s recent income tracker report showed that fuel price inflation rose to 11.9% in October, the highest value since July.

Sainsbury’s is also cutting the price of both unleaded petrol and diesel by 2ppl across all of its 314 forecourts.

David Pegg, fuel buying manager for Sainsbury’s, said: “As we head into December and the run up to Christmas we are committed to helping our customers live well for less, whether they’re stocking up on groceries and gifts or refuelling their cars. That’s why we’re dropping the price of both unleaded petrol and diesel by 2ppl across every single one of our forecourts from tomorrow. Whether in store or at the pumps, customers know they will get fantastic value with Sainsbury’s”.

RAC fuel spokesperson Simon Williams said: “This is yet more good news for motorists but despite Asda cutting their prices regularly the other supermarkets are sadly lagging way behind. There is often talk of a supermarket price war over fuel, but this couldn’t be further from the truth at the moment.

“The current UK average price of petrol is 125.43p and 134.41p for diesel. RAC Fuel Watch data shows that this should be at least 8ppl lower for unleaded and 6ppl for diesel. If retailers do the right thing then it could really soon be Christmas at the pumps.

“Asda’s nearest competitor is currently charging 2.5p more for a litre of unleaded whereas the most expensive of the big four supermarket retailers is charging over 4p more per litre. Consequently, the UK average price of petrol is not falling at the rate it should be due to the dip in the value of oil.

“The sad reality for drivers is that the majority of fuel retailers are taking advantage of the falling wholesale price by pocketing the savings instead of passing them on at the pumps.”