The Road Haulage Association’s (RHA’s) demand for an immediate 5ppl cut in fuel prices has been dismissed by RMI Petrol.
Chairman Brian Madderson told Forecourt Trader: “We don’t think there is a 5ppl reduction in the system at the moment.”
The RHA’s call followed the major supermarket chains’ cuts in fuel prices earlier this week. RHA spokesman Geoff Dunning said: “By their very nature, heavy goods vehicles are unable to take advantage of these cuts, quite simply because they are not allowed onto supermarket forecourts.”
He added: “The exchange rate should not be used as an excuse for high pump prices when the price of oil has dropped by 12% in the last month. It is imperative that we see a 5ppl cut in the price of fuel. When the price rises we have no choice but to bite the bullet and pay up. Equally, when the price comes down, we expect to see that reflected at the pump too.”
However, Madderson said the exchange rates – specifically the weakness of the pound versus the US dollar – were adversely affecting pump prices. He said that if the August 10 wholesale price of fuel was calculated using April 29’s exchange rate, the wholesale cost of unleaded would be 1.5ppl less and diesel would be 1.7ppl less.
The supermarket chains’ fuel price cuts began on Monday when Tesco announced a cut of ‘up to 2ppl’, on top of last week’s 1p reduction. A spokeswoman said ‘up to 2ppl’ was announced because of Tesco’s regional pricing policy.
Asda quickly followed suit by cutting petrol and diesel by 2ppl which brought its national price down to 130.7ppl for unleaded and 134.7ppl for diesel. The company said: “It comes on top of last week’s 2p cut and confirms our commitment to leading the way in reducing fuel prices whenever we can.”
Sainsbury and Morrisons also cut prices.
Meanwhile, Tesco’s latest in-store promotion requires shoppers to buy two Lynx deodorants (two for £5), two bottles of Robinsons squash (two for £6) and two packs of Duracell batteries (two for £9) in order to save up to 15ppl off fuel.
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