For the fifth week in a row, supermarkets are cutting the price of unleaded petrol and diesel.

As of tomorrow Sainsbury’s is cutting the price of unleaded petrol and diesel by up to 2ppl across its 314 forecourts.  

David Pegg, Fuel buying Manager for Sainsbury’s, said: 

 “In this busy festive season we’re doing all we can to help our customers live well for less and this is why we have decided to lower fuel prices for the fifth week in a row. As of Saturday, December 8, both petrol and diesel prices will be reduced by up to 2ppl so that whether they’re shopping for gifts or stocking up on festive food, customers know that when they shop at Sainsbury’s they can not only fill their trolleys but also their cars at fantastic value.”

Asda has also announced a cut of up to 2ppl off unleaded and diesel, meaning drivers across the country will pay no more than 114.7ppl on unleaded and 125.7ppl on diesel on Asda sites. The company said it was the sixth fuel price drop it had led since October 26, dropping the price of unleaded fuel by 13ppl and diesel by 9ppl.         

Asda’s senior fuel buyer, Dave Tyrer said: "With only a few weeks until Christmas we’re pleased we can do our bit to make our customers’ hard-earned cash go a little further.”

RAC fuel spokesperson Simon Williams said: “Fuel has been overpriced on our forecourts for over a month so while this is another step in the right direction all retailers should have reduced prices far quicker.

“Instead many have capitalised on a chance to make more money while hard-pressed motorists continued to fork out for unnecessarily expensive petrol. We need reductions in the wholesale price to be passed on quickly in the same way increases are when oil is going up.

“Last month we saw the largest drop in petrol prices in four years, but it really should have been far greater than it was due to the dramatic drop in the price of oil. Now it’s vital the other supermarkets start to compete with Asda in the way they were doing two months ago. Without this other retailers will not bring their prices down quickly enough and the UK average prices will not fall to the level they should be at. In the season of goodwill we need retailers to charge motorists a fair price for both petrol and diesel.”

“There is, however, a serious cause for concern around the Opec oil producers’ meeting in Vienna today (Friday) as any agreement to curb output could mark the start of rising oil prices again, which is likely to have the effect of pushing up wholesale fuel prices – and in turn the price motorists in the UK pay to fill up.”