Fuel Price War in the UK Ramping Up
The supermarket pump price war has affected the fuel price a lot these last few weeks and has lowered the petrol price quite significantly. The drop has come for the first time in the market and what with Christmas around the corner, the timing is rather good. Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s have announced that they were second cuts in the price as crude oil falls in the market again. Britain’s biggest petrol retailer, Tesco, is going to lower diesel and petrol by 1ppl/litre. With almost 500 stations in the UK, this will have a big impact on consumers pockets.
Other supermarkets following suit
It has been reported that Asda and Sainsbury’s are going to follow Tesco’s lead and reduce the cost of petrol by 1ppl/litre and diesel by 2ppl/litre. The price reduction came a few weeks ago when Sainsbury’s cut the petrol price by 5ppl/litre. At that time, Tesco and Asda had also announced the cut in their petrol prices. Asda has also stated that the prices have not gone this low December 2010. The fuel prices would have maximum price of 123.77ppl for petrol and 126.7ppl for diesel. The Asda prices for diesel have come down to 130.7ppl and 125.7 ppl for petrol. A win win situation all round.
Movement in the market
The crude oil price has actually dropped 20% since June. So you could say that there are more savings to come when you look at it from that perspective. With the average price at now under $80 per barrel, The AA have gone on the record to state that there is no guarantee that any savings will actually be passed on to consumers.
Other factors affecting the price reduction are high oil production in the United States and cooling of demand in Asia. The AA have also warned that motorists who do not use petrol stations may have to pay a higher price for fuel. The affected areas include smaller rural towns and rural areas located far away from the supermarket petrol stations.
With costs falling this helps consumers keep the vehicle bills that little bit lower, with their car maintenance, motor trade insurance (if a trader) and road tax.
It will be interesting to see where the price-point for fuel goes, what with the wholesale price of petrol rising due to the pound being weaker than the dollar, the actual price per barrel does not always come into it. What with economic woes and war-torn issues around the world, it is unlikely to be a stable price for long.