Tesco has become the latest example of supermarkets using fuel as a loss leader, offering deep discounts on petrol and diesel to attract shoppers to their stores or websites.

The retail giant is giving a 10p off per litre of fuel coupon to shoppers who spend £60 in store or online. The offer runs until May 26 and the coupon must be redeemed against a single fuel purchase within two weeks of receiving it in store, or before Sunday June 9 for coupons issued with an online shop.

Last month Sainsbury’s ran an identical deal running from April 24-30.

The offer was launched just four days after another round of price cuts were announced by the big four supermarket groups.

At 12.24am on May 2 Morrisons announced on Twitter that it was cutting “up to” 2 pence per litre (ppl) off unleaded petrol and 1ppl off diesel that afternoon.

Within three and a half hours Sainsbury’s responded with “up to” 2ppl off unleaded petrol and diesel, and Asda came back with “up to” 2ppl off unleaded an 1ppl off diesel, with both company’s price cuts taking effect on May 3, and Tesco announced cuts of “up to” 2ppl on both unleaded and diesel, without specifying when.

Asda emphasised that it had national maximum prices of 129.7ppl for unleaded petrol and 134.7ppl for diesel, and claimed it was the only major supermarket group with a national price cap.

Petrol trading director Andy Peake said: “We’re pleased to be reducing the price of fuel yet again for all our customers. Our national price cap benefits everyone across the country, meaning that no-one filling up at Asda will be forced to pay a premium for their fuel because of where they live.”