Supermarket giant ASDA cut the price of its fuel by 2 pence a litre last Thursday following the drop in wholesale prices, leaving other supermarkets to scramble to keep their prices competitive. The reduction will bring its price to a national cap of 111.7 pence per litre for unleaded. The cap will apply to all 305 of ASDA’s filling stations, including 10 in Northern Ireland.
ASDA leads the changes
The price of wholesale dropped to $48 a barrel last week, prompting the move by the supermarket chain. It is currently the only retailer that has a national price cap in place, which ensures no driver will pay more than the cap figure of 111.7 pence per litre at any filling station anywhere in the UK.
Dave Tyrer, Head of Petrol Trading at ASDA, said the move showed that ASDA was once again leading the market in terms of the price of fuel at the pumps and aimed to help millions of motorists around the country. The price cap applies to both unleaded and diesel and comes ahead of the busy summer period.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams confirmed the move was excellent news for motorists. He added that it was particularly good to see a major supermarket reducing the cost of diesel so that it was in line with the cost of petrol. Currently, the wholesale price of both fuels is very similar.
Current trends
Of the four main supermarkets that offer fuel, this price change means that ASDA is currently the cheapest. Its price has fallen from 113.9 pence per litre in April to the new low of 111.7 pence per litre last week. Its nearest competitor is Morrisons, whose price was 112.2 pence per litre, while both Sainsbury’s and Tesco were selling unleaded at 112.7 pence per litre.
| June 17th | Change (ppl) | June 20th | |
| BP | 118.5 | 1.5 | 117.4 |
| Shell | 118.1 | 1.5 | 117.2 |
| Esso | 117.3 | 1.5 | 116.3 |
| Texaco | 117.4 | 1.5 | 116.5 |
| Gulf | 117.9 | 1.5 | 117.5 |
| ASDA | 112.7 | 0.8 | 111.7 |
| Sainsbury’s | 113.8 | 1.1 | 112.7 |
| Tesco | 114.1 | 1.4 | 112.7 |
| Morrisons | 112.9 | 0.7 | 112.2 |
Source: PetrolPrices.com
The price gap between supermarkets and service stations remains considerable, especially in light of the drop in wholesale prices. Prices for unleaded at major service stations are on average 4 or 5 pence per litre more than at supermarkets.
This shows that currently, supermarkets offer great value for money for motorists and the added bonus of being able to fill up while shopping is attractive to many. Plus, you can also collect loyalty points with some of the supermarkets that can reduce your fuel and food bills even further.
Super unleaded trends
The picture remains different on the super unleaded pumps, with supermarkets ASDA and Morrisons currently not offering a version of this product. Both Sainsburys and Tesco do and their prices at this point were very similar, at 118.6 pence and 118.4 pence per litre respectively. As mentioned in last week’s article about super unleaded, there are now many places to buy it at the same price as, or cheaper than, unleaded.
Again, costs at service stations for super unleaded were higher than those at supermarkets which offer the product. Prices varied from 127.2 pence (Texaco) to 129.2 pence (BP) for motorists wanting to fill up with this fuel.
Positive trend
With the other supermarkets already saying they are following the lead set by ASDA and reducing their prices, this shows signs of a positive trend as we move into summer. Prices have been unchanged in recent weeks, despite the falling price of wholesale fuel. As we move into the busy summer period, it is good news that the supermarkets are lowering fuel prices to help motorists keep money in their pocket for other essentials. Supermarkets remain the go-to place for great prices on petrol and diesel.
What do you think about the recent price changes? Do you think we could be seeing sustained reductions in prices or is this a temporary fall before an increase? Let us know in the comments below.
Image credit: “Petrol prices” by morebyless is licensed under CC BY 2.0 / image manipulated to show pricing.
Great news that supermarkets are using their buying power to cut fuel costs. BUT….
People sometimes say that supermarket fuel is actually inferior, that the supermarkets (and certain other fuel outlets) keep the price down by not adding certain additives in their storage tanks. I would have thought that what is delivered is always the final product, nothing more to add, but you hear it so often. What is the truth please?
Difference in fuel I believe all fuel on sale on the Isle of Wight is delivered by the same pipeline from the refinery at Fowley and then sold as different brands at petrol stations .Please correct me if I am wrong
You mean per litre. Else 1.20 per gallon…. now that would be awesome !
Tesco seem to have followed suit. But some are still selling at over 120p/gallon. and people are buying it.
I have heard similar comments.
When tankers pick up the fuel, they all get the basic fuel from the same tank. It is then what is added later that makes the difference. BP, Shell and Esso claim to put cleaners in to keep your engine run efficiently.
One of the reasons supermarkets are getting a bad reputation is that Trescothick for instance was caught out adding too much water to their fuel, and had to compensate a lot of people who had their engines ruined. I believe that supermarkets are just a basic fuel with no additives.
Sainsbury’s near me have been selling unleaded at 111.7 for over 2 weeks.
The maths in the table is incorrect in a lot of places!
Tesco near me are selling unleaded at £110.9 and I expect Morrisons and ASDA are selling at £110.7
Bought unleaded at Morrisons Cardiff North for 110.7p litre today, a drop of 2p over last 2 weeks.
The Tesco petrol station adjoining its Uttoxeter supermarket only knocked 1p off per litre and is still charging £1.149 a litre for regular unleaded. I filled up at Asda Tamworth a couple of days ago, where it and nearby Sainsbury had unleaded at £1.087 per litre. So why so much discrepancy – local market forces no doubt!
What I would like to know is when are us diesel drivers going to get a decent deal on fuel prices from the petrol companies. And when will supermarkets sell the same quality diesel as the actual oil companies. Diesel is cheaper to refine but we are still paying more than petrol car drivers. I say a fair deal for all.
Hi Peter, I have a feeling that with all the fuss now being made about emissions from diesel cars, this Government will go on the offensive to demonise the diesel car and, as a consequence, I can’t see any move towards cheaper fuel. Regards Clive
Some time ago I checked the actual amount of fuel supplied by ASDA and found that I did not receive the full amount. As stated this was some time ago and the legislation permitted the pumps to be within plus / minus 10%, and I found that the minus allowance was almost fully used.
Do you ever actually check the actual quantity supplied as obviously if the current legislation allows a plus / minus figure of whatever percentage this may be, then reducing the price is only an anomally and the customer may actually be paying more not less for a full litre/gallon.
I would ad that since I checked this I have not purchesed fuel from ASDA unless I neededfuel and had to use them.
Yes Asda may have reduced petrol prices to the 111.7p cap but in my area that has put the price up by a penny a litre !
Sainsburys Cardiff has been selling diesel for £1-10.9 per litre for about two weeks now down from £1-11.9
Great news that supermarkets are using their buying power to cut fuel costs. BUT….
People sometimes say that supermarket fuel is actually inferior, that the supermarkets (and certain other fuel outlets) keep the price down by not adding certain additives in their storage tanks. I would have thought that what is delivered is always the final product, nothing more to add, but you hear it so often. What is the truth please?
Difference in fuel I believe all fuel on sale on the Isle of Wight is delivered by the same pipeline from the refinery at Fowley and then sold as different brands at petrol stations .Please correct me if I am wrong
You mean per litre. Else 1.20 per gallon…. now that would be awesome !
Tesco seem to have followed suit. But some are still selling at over 120p/gallon. and people are buying it.
I have heard similar comments.
When tankers pick up the fuel, they all get the basic fuel from the same tank. It is then what is added later that makes the difference. BP, Shell and Esso claim to put cleaners in to keep your engine run efficiently.
One of the reasons supermarkets are getting a bad reputation is that Trescothick for instance was caught out adding too much water to their fuel, and had to compensate a lot of people who had their engines ruined. I believe that supermarkets are just a basic fuel with no additives.
Sainsbury’s near me have been selling unleaded at 111.7 for over 2 weeks.
The maths in the table is incorrect in a lot of places!
Tesco near me are selling unleaded at £110.9 and I expect Morrisons and ASDA are selling at £110.7
Bought unleaded at Morrisons Cardiff North for 110.7p litre today, a drop of 2p over last 2 weeks.
The Tesco petrol station adjoining its Uttoxeter supermarket only knocked 1p off per litre and is still charging £1.149 a litre for regular unleaded. I filled up at Asda Tamworth a couple of days ago, where it and nearby Sainsbury had unleaded at £1.087 per litre. So why so much discrepancy – local market forces no doubt!
What I would like to know is when are us diesel drivers going to get a decent deal on fuel prices from the petrol companies. And when will supermarkets sell the same quality diesel as the actual oil companies. Diesel is cheaper to refine but we are still paying more than petrol car drivers. I say a fair deal for all.
Hi Peter, I have a feeling that with all the fuss now being made about emissions from diesel cars, this Government will go on the offensive to demonise the diesel car and, as a consequence, I can’t see any move towards cheaper fuel. Regards Clive
Some time ago I checked the actual amount of fuel supplied by ASDA and found that I did not receive the full amount. As stated this was some time ago and the legislation permitted the pumps to be within plus / minus 10%, and I found that the minus allowance was almost fully used.
Do you ever actually check the actual quantity supplied as obviously if the current legislation allows a plus / minus figure of whatever percentage this may be, then reducing the price is only an anomally and the customer may actually be paying more not less for a full litre/gallon.
I would ad that since I checked this I have not purchesed fuel from ASDA unless I neededfuel and had to use them.
Yes Asda may have reduced petrol prices to the 111.7p cap but in my area that has put the price up by a penny a litre !
Sainsburys Cardiff has been selling diesel for £1-10.9 per litre for about two weeks now down from £1-11.9