A cut of 3ppl in the price of petrol has been made by Asda taking its price cap on unleaded to 122.7ppl, while diesel remains unchanged at 126.7ppl.

Asda senior fuel buyer Dave Tyrer said: “With wholesale costs falling, we’re pleased to be able to pass these savings onto our customers. Drivers filling up at an Asda filling station will pay no more than 122.7ppl on unleaded and 126.7ppl on diesel.”

Sainsbury’s later announced it would be making a cut of up to 3ppl on petrol by Sunday.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “This is a very welcome but long overdue cut. Drivers have been paying more than they should have for weeks due to savings in the wholesale price of petrol which retailers have failed to pass on until today.

“We pointed out this at the start of the month, yet it has taken them over a week to react. In the meantime they have all benefitted nicely while drivers continued to pay more than they should. There have been times in the past when retailers have acted more transparently by passing on savings brought about by lower wholesale prices, but unfortunately this won’t go down as one of them.

“This cut should, however, lead to the average price of petrol falling as a result of all retailers following suit. Currently, unleaded is 128p a litre on average around the UK so this will help to move it towards 125p in the next week or so, saving drivers more than £1.50 every time they fill up.”