Supermarkets could be first to hit what the RAC predicts could be the lowest petrol prices in more than five years early in 2015.
The motoring organisation believes petrol could soon be selling for under £1 a litre – a price last seen in late May 2009.
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons and Asda have today announced further reductions at the pumps of 2p a litre for petrol and 1p a litre for diesel effective from tomorrow [18 December].
Sainsbury’s said it was the fifth time in three weeks it had dropped the price of fuel across its 298 forecourts.
Avishai Moor, Sainsbury’s head of fuel, said: “This is another way in which we can offer our customers real value for money when they fill up with Sainsbury’s.”
A spokeswoman added that the company priced locally to ensure it was the most competitive in any given area.
The same cuts at Tesco at its 500 forecourts was an extra saving on top of those that Clubcard customers could make through Fuel Save, which fuel director Peter Cattell said gave 6p a litre average savings on petrol.
“That means Clubcard customers can get the lowest price for petrol and diesel in the UK,” he said.
Morrisons announced its fourth price cut in the past nine days at its 332 forecourts. Mark Todd, petrol director, said: “Recent wholesale price drops have allowed us to pass savings on to the customer.”
Asda, which has 245 filling stations, said it had cut the price of fuel 11 times since the end of September, taking 16p a litre off unleaded and 12p a litre off diesel, led by a further fall in oil prices.
Andy Peake, petrol trading director, said: “We know our competitors are likely to follow our lead but Asda doesn’t have a postcode lottery on fuel meaning no matter where customers live, they will benefit from the same fuel price with our national price cap of 110p a litre for unleaded and 117p a litre for diesel.”
Simon Williams RAC fuel spokesman, said the prospect of petrol going below £1 a litre in the new year was incredible, particularly when prices at the beginning of this year seemed to be heading ever upwards.
“Current forecasts are for average petrol prices to fall to below 110p a litre in the next fortnight and diesel to drop to under 116p,” he added. ”At these average prices across the country, the cheapest retailers will almost certainly be selling petrol for around 105p a litre or even lower.”
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