Back at the end of October last year, supermarkets announced the first of many price drops. Since then, the unleaded price has dropped from an average of 131.1ppl in October to 120.1ppl now, and a 136.2ppl average in October for diesel and dropping to 129.3ppl so far in January.
Now the RAC has come forward with concerns that the supermarket price wars are no longer a thing, as they released statistics showing that ¾ of the main supermarket groups are no longer dropping their prices quick enough, and with the same ferocity as Asda.
Crunching the numbers
Ashley Beach, Data Analyst at PetrolPrices.com said “Before the price war, supermarket average unleaded prices were spread over a range of less than 1.5ppl, meaning they were all less than a 1.5ppl difference from Asda prices. On top of that, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s differed by less than 0.01ppl while Tesco was approximately 0.22ppl higher, meaning these three chains were in proximity of 0.22ppl between each other.
ASDA began the price war on the 26th with an average drop of 2.14ppl in their unleaded price. Four days later, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s followed suit but only to an extent with average price drops of 1.03ppl and 1.09ppl respectively. Tesco kept their average unleaded price above 128ppl and only followed suit when ASDA announced their second price drop. By the time all supermarkets had followed this drop Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and ASDA had made drops of 2.21ppl, 2.46ppl, 2.82ppl and 4.15ppl respectively. This meant that the average unleaded price at each supermarket started to spread over a larger range and the difference between each supermarket became much more prominent than before the price war.
As of the 15th of January, the most recent price drop was last week, and the range of unleaded supermarket price averages is much greater than before the price war at 3.8ppl. Morrisons are 0.73ppl greater than Sainsbury’s, and Tesco 0.53ppl greater than Morrisons. Hence the price war started by ASDA made massive changes; not only have they gained, at the least, a 1.4ppl increase in the difference between their price and other supermarkets since the start of the price war, but they have also induced greater differences between the other supermarkets. However, it’s good to mention these numbers for these metrics aren’t the highest we’ve seen during the price war, and it’s fair to say the supermarkets could slowly begin to converge to closer prices again.
Since the start of the price war to present day the average unleaded price decreases for ASDA, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Tesco have been 13.4ppl, 12.0ppl, 11.3ppl and 10.9ppl respectively.”
What about diesel?
He continued “As for diesel, the price war had a slightly different effect. The average diesel prices for Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco converged closer than before the price war in the most recent price drops. The range of these brands on the 25th of October 2018 was 0.98ppl whereas on the 14th of January 2019 this is now 0.17ppl and has been below 0.2ppl for five days now. However similarly to unleaded, ASDA has gained an increase in the difference between their prices and the other supermarkets, as they have lowered their prices by the most since they started the price war, back in October. The average diesel price decreases for ASDA, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Tesco are 9.2ppl, 8.7ppl, 8.2ppl and 7.8ppl respectively.
Tesco had the highest prices throughout the price war until the most recent price drop where they have now returned to their original position having the second cheapest diesel prices after ASDA.”
So, did the prices drop enough?
At the beginning of October, the price of a barrel of oil equivalent was $86, the highest it had been since November 2014, yet prices in November 2014 averaged at 123ppl for unleaded and 127.5ppl for unleaded. In December of 2014, unleaded averaged at 117.1ppl and diesel at 122.7ppl, which is a different picture to what we have now. While the economic situation was different then, VAT has remained the same, along with fuel duty.
As shown above, the prices now are much higher and spread over a greater difference. The RAC think that over the next two weeks petrol should come down by 8p a litre to an average of 113ppl, and diesel should come down by 10ppl, bringing the average to 120ppl. However, this is dependent on the retailers passing on savings, which the RAC does not believe they are doing.
They fear that the petrol retail market may have changed forever as Asda have consistently lowered their prices by much larger margins than other retailers. The supermarkets not competing as much means that the ripple effect that is caused by competition from smaller garages aiming to compete with supermarkets simply hasn’t happened.
Do you think supermarkets have dropped their prices enough? Would a further drop help you out? Let us know below
If available use Costco, much cheaper than all of the supermarkets
If available use Costco, much cheaper than the supermarkets
Last time I bought Costco diesel, I then found it cheaper after all back in my own area
Also, Costco diesel is PREMIUM, so it is mega cheap!
I paid 113,9ppl at sainsbury Lincoln on Monday the 14th
your lucky
my local morrisons in Greenock Scotland is 126.9ppl
I also don’t understand why price at the major supermarkets also varies so much by location, surely they all bulk buy at one price nationally so this can only be to exploite local market prices at other retailers. They could drive local prices down further. I have 3 Tesco store within a 12 mile radius and they are all different.
Whilst they may bulk buy or have contracts in place, the fuel comes from different places around the country, all at slightly different prices. The transport costs then vary to get from those locations to the different fuel stations. For example it costs more to get from Thames to Norwich than it does from Thames to Chelmsford. Then they will have rent costs, utilities, etc for each station to factor in too. If you have 3 Tesco stores nearby then whilst they maybe different they should at least be similar. Though if one is significantly different and happens to be located in a prominent position for passing drivers then they are likely to be exploiting that location with a higher margin of profit.
In Scotland, they all get their supplies from the same place – Grangemouth. Tesco prices can vary between stores only 5 miles apart.
Well I won’t go to supermarkets anymore because it was causing problems with starting my car. My mechanic advised me to stop putting the cheap petrol in. Since changing to Essex Petrole stations I have had no problems. So would sooner pay a bit more per litre and not have problems.
Should have read Esso petrol
Well your mechanic needs to think about where the fuel comes from. The same refineries. Your car starting problems are nothing to do with the price of the fuel. Ask him to do his job and find the real problem
The fuel is identical. Do you really think Tesco etc have the means to refine their own crude oil? It’s bought in bulk from the major refineries and then the bulk buy saving is passed on.
Sorry to hear that but I have been using supermarket Petrol and Diesel for 40 years and never had any problem with engines sizes from 995cc to 3300cc
I remember you when you had a pink car Lynne, although I was there when you got rid of it.
Hope you’re well these days.
Probably not so much down to the fuel but to the cleanliness of the tanks at the filling stations, if filtration is not good or the tanks have water in them then that is wherethe problems arrise. I suspect that there were corners cut by some of the supermarkets in the maintenace front that lead to contaminated fuel damaging engines, there have been enogh examples in the press to make this the most likely scenario. The guys are right about the fuel deliveries coming from the same places.
Why is Diesel so much more expensive than Petrol? Now more than 10p/litre!
Simply put, it is tax. Diesel is VASTLY cheaper to produce!
The tax on petrol and diesel is the same – 57.95ppl + VAT – so while it’s fine to complain about the level of it, it doesn’t explain the petrol/diesel price differential.
Please amplify your answer breaking out the Tax, Duty and VAT elements for each so that we may get a complete picture. I’m sure the OP just lumped them together as “Tax” and I think this needs to be clearer.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15462923
Might be beter to read this – its about 7 years old on numbers so add inflation but the variables are the same and the percentages are still the same. Some factors like using refining ”waste ” or other surplus crude that are sold to other manufacturors to make petroleum by products like plastic’s etc may inpact on about a penny in the pound if that and thats if operated by driller/supplier of Crude and not refiner or wholesaler.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15462923
Pete – you’re wrong on diesel being cheaper to produce than petrol – it’s not, if you factor in how much petrol you can refine from a barrel of crude oil and compare it to what you get out of it as regards diesel.
Nope. Diesel is about 10% dearer to produce but can be as high as 18% . But ues Tax Duty and a couple of other factors afffect the pricing – In many Countries Diesel is or was subsidised by lower duty as it was Industrial etc hence the market in red diesel, however in some Countries Diesel is actually cheaper than unleaded.
When there was more Diesels than petrol through Government encouragement, they then put the price up by 10p a litre then months later said it was bad for us, it all boils down to taxes.
UK and couple more EU countries have diesel more expensive than petrol. its insane
In Berlin Diesel was at least 10 cents cheaper than Petrol in December 2018 I suggest you go to Berlin to fill up with Diesel Or maybe try walking again
Mike – one of the reasons why diesel is currently more expensive by some way than petrol is becuase it’s winter, and in winter, demand for diesel is higher: businesses and people use diesel generators far more. Historically, petrol has always been cheaper by 5-10% than petrol (it’s more expensive to refine than petrol as you get less of it out of a barrel of crude oil), and it’s only been in the last 3 years that the gap at the pumps has narrowed, not sure why that was.
The cost to produce Diesel is less than the cost to produce Petrol, it was almost a by product of petrol distillations, hence the reason that it used to be significanly cheaper to buy than petrol. Andrew is correct in what he says that there is less produced as a fraction of the distillation (it varies dependant on the crude oil being fractioned). Tax isues not withstanding, the difference in cost comes about because of our old friend supply and demand. Back in the days when diesel was cheaper to buy than petrol the mail users were were lorries for road haulage, agricultural vehicles and only a very small percentage used for cars. Coal was used to heat houses and commercial premises. Nowadays, due to the technical innovations and developements in engine design and government promotion in the UK popularity of Diesel for car use spiralled. So now there is a huge market for it, not only do a huge percentage of cars use it but the road haulage industry transports much more of our consumables on the roads (hardly any rail frieght these days) it is used in heating both domestic and industrial (though both of these are swinging towasrs gas these days) and is still the main fuel in agriculture. The market has big seasonal demands across the globe (go & google the usage, I can’t be bothered typing it all up). All in all it is quite a complex market, not just down to tax or production costs.
Andrew that excuse doesn’t wash on a 10-11p difference in a litre …. I’ve been driving diesels now for over 15 years and remember the government cutting the tax on diesel to the same level as petrol bring prices to the same level … in winter the price of diesel might have crept up to 1-2p more than petrol but this 10p is just a rip off as winter hadn’t even started when the price of petrol started falling and we’ve not exactly had a hard winter as yet
that is not true, I remember when diesel was cheaper than petrol, but that was when diesel vehicles were vans and lorries only
Also why is it a lot cheaper(Diesel) over in Ireland..Quite surprised when we hired a car a couple of months ago🤓
I think it’s disgraceful that none of the retailers have passed on the true oil price drop to the consumer. Once again it’s exploitation of the motorist. But then I’ve also heard that government and local government are doing their best to price the individual motorist off the road in order to “save the planet”! I can certainly believe that one! We are all having our freedom of choice removed. It’s subtle, but it’s there! And possibly, it’s also necessary?
Have always found Asda to be the cheapest hence I always full up with them unless someone local to me comes up cheaper, which is not that often!! Well done to Asda for being the most competitive!! Keep up the good work!
We live in Surrey but often go to Eastbourne where the market is dominated by Asda and the unleaded price is on average about 5p cheaper. Pity there is no Asda near us in Surrey where motorists are ripped off!
Asda for me,113.7 , and pay at pump so in and out in no time. Excellent shop too better than Tesco . I have given up Tesco for Asda and Lidl. As for quality, well I have used supermarket fuels since it was available( 30 years +) and never had an engine problem. But it is a good excuse for incompetent mechanics so they use it.
Over the last year the price of Diesel at where I used to live and now has been as much as 7p and as little 2p.
I love the old stock photo with a price difference of 4p per litre. And the stealthy additional tax implemented with the recent price reductions….
It’s no great surprise. It’s not as if the pricing of supermarket fuel is pegged to the oil price anyway: the reason they are so cheap is that they cross subsidise from their stores and use it as part of their overall marketing strategy. If the others think their marketing spend would be better utilised elsewhere then that’s their prerogative. I know that there was an extended period a while back of something like 6 months when Sainsbury’s sold all their fuel at a loss. That’s a lot of budget.
Why are all being so ruthless on people with diesel cars,it’s ripping us off,maybe 2or 3p a litre dearer but not over 8p a litre which at present is 10p a litre.oil companies are greedy and hitting us all ways on every day man cars then on transport business which in turn put prices of food etc up.Think government are to fixed on Brexit and getting nowhere, and doing nothing about anything else.when will we get a better deal.??
why is there 11p/litre difference now where I live? when I looked into it it was supermarkets dropping the price of petrol. I wonder if there isn’t some collusion between the supermarkets and government to try and encourage petrol car purchases?
There is no reason why supermarkets should not compete more closely with Asda.
Once again the motorist is. Being exploited, this time by the supermarkets; there is no reason why they should not reflect more closely the drop in oil prices.
Asda have always been the only honest supermarket. Tesco says they are reducing prices but they only do it if there is no local opposition. The are very greedy!! Well done Asda
I think there must be some local manager discretion, as well as having national 10p-off campaigns if you spend £60 in the shop. The only Big-4 supermarket round here with a filling station is Tesco, and they are consistently the lowest price fuel retailer in town. There are Sainsbury’s stations about 5 and 10 miles away (close to other fuel retailers), and they are occasionally 0.5p-1p cheaper than our Tesco, but currently Tesco is cheaper than both. Asda seems to have no filling stations in this area. The nearest Morrison’s is about 12 miles away and is almost always 2p-3p dearer than our competitor-free Tesco.
yes they would why is there so much price diffrence between petrol&diesel
I have found when a Asda and Sainsbury’s are close together their prices are almost the same One the cheapest one day the other the next
Our Asda is always about a penny cheaper than Sainsbury, but then you have to factors in Nectar points and if you shop at Sainsbury we nearly always get a triple points coupon for in store shopping.
Diesel cost more because of the negativity surrounding diesels impact on the environment, they told us diesel wad better for the environment and everyone should buy a diesel car, then penalised us for it
No fuel prices are a rip off compared to where they should be
No, they do not pass on savings, as they should. Increases are quick, decreases very slow.
Also Diesel, (which historically was cheaper than petrol), should be a lot cheaper than it is.
Motorway services …. Prices are a disgrace and should be reduced drastically. Drivers should boycott Motorway service stations
Once again,..Rip off Britain
Some people are now getting fuel cans and using them on long journeys to avoid using the service stations. I would love it if we all did that I bet they would lower their prices then
I just love the way that in this country there’s always a clamour about the unfairness of this and that, or we’re losing out on something or other, and journalists stoke the fire, because that’s what journalists do to get someone to read their blurb.
If retailers of whatever description charge more than somebody else, it’s unfair ! No, it’s not. It’s what people are in business for – to profit by whatever margin they can get away with by flogging products that make the world go round. It’s a business and marketing strategy, that’s a fundamental judgement of every enterprise as to what will enable them to survive, and worthwhile trading at all, or packing up shop. As has been demonstrated so vividly by our retail marketplace in recent years, with so many throwing in the towel, and then everybody’s wringing their hands about staff losing their jobs Those businesses that continue to survive, and are charging “unfair” prices, are at least continuing to provide employment for us plebs.
Yes, business proprietors / shareholders may indeed be “profiting” or maybe, even profiteering, but if they weren’t achieving that, we wouldn’t have them there to trade to satisfy our multifarious wants.
Shop around use the cheapest the rest will cut there prices if they stopped selling
But some people just can’t be bothered
Near me Asda cheaper than shell station oppersite by 8ppl but drivers carnt be bothered to drive round junction for saving There quite happy to pay for inflated fuel rather than take an extra 60 second detour …. so blame them if people are willing to pay over the odds
Prices will always be over inflated so if we want the cheapest ….shop around the others will fall inline
Sales reps and similar on expenses will use Shell or BP to get the rewards. They don’t care about the prices (I know – I was one!)
Price drops for fuel are always welcome,and I try to support the cheapest outlet in my area,which “petrol prices” helps a great deal.when I see drivers filling up at stations that are way over the odds I just cannot understand their rationale.
Usually when they are on a company fuel card so savings are not so important.
They are ALL rip off companies. The Government is also a rip off.
If people went to the cheapest station in their area and totally ignored all others they would soon get the message. Queuing wont hurt you for awhile as the other station could not suvive a boycott. The public hold the power, just need to use it.
Someone needs to organize a block at the really dear staions, police cant be at every staion.
Also worth reiterated that 65pc of every litre is on duty, drop that down to around vat level and the problem is solved, so the problem is nit greedy companys or oil peeps, its the government., suprise suprise
Tesco has always been the dearest in town, their station is on the main road into town whereas Asda is half a mile away so they get the holiday makers who have just driven up from london, they also hide their prices until you get right up to the entrance.
In Port Talbot..Morrisons and Tescos stick together and their Fuel prices are always higher than other petrol stations which are outside their 1 mile radius..Very slow in giving benefits to their shoppers..We have come to realise that just down the road at Pyle there’s an Asda…so once a week we top up our Diesel and shop at the same time…It’s our little protest! So it’s the Supermarkets loss🤓
It’s so annoying that Sainsburys in York can be 5p per litre cheaper than Sainsburys in Scarborough. Similarly, Morrisons are the same. It should be the same price everywhere unless there is a substantial distance to be covered by the tankers, eg. Northern Scotland etc.
Local diesel.. i.e. within 3 miles of the in-laws north east 125.9…… 82 miles later 120.7 for regular diesel.
So if you’re travelling it pays to plan and if on a previous post, you drive your vehicle at optimum speed you do save money in the long run. I agree with the RAC. Prices could still come down at least another 10p a litre.
Price can vary even between fuel stations of the same supermarket. For example I am halfway between 2 Tesco outlets and there is a difference of 2p/l between them.
It is odd that it takes more crude oil to make a gallon of petrol yet diesel is higher. Yes I think that we are being ripped off at the pump.
Diesel is still11p a ltr more than petrol and should be so much less,and I wonder why not?
Diesel is very expensive compared to petrol 11p a Ltr. why should that be I wonder?
Oh dear – once again all those commenting seem to miss a couple of key points. The cost of fuel is not solely determined by the price of crude alone but by all the other costs from extraction of the crude through to delivery to the forecourt. Increases in the costs all the way through that chain add to the cost of the end product. The other factor of course is that none of us is anywhere near paying the full environmental cost of motoring – we are just closing our eyes and shoving it on to our children and grandchildren. To even get close to meeting all the environmental costs of motoring we will all have to start paying fuel duty at least double the rate it is today. Carrying on propping the truth is just heaping more and more costs/debt on future generations.
They should drop their prices even further. Because the impending weather will reduced the journeys by many drivers,
Taking info from the search tools associated with this very website has led me to my local Asda for 113ppl unleaded. Very happy with that price but of course i would love the price to be less than £1 like it always used to be. I remember £20 would get me 22ltr. Im sure older folks will laugh at that and say something about it being 40-60ppl. ANY saving is appreciated though. No-one wants over 120ppl
It was 5.5ppl in the early 60s for 4 star
Yet another reason why Sainsbury’s buying a controlling share of Asda would be bad for consumers and should be rejected by the CMA
Try living in Scotland then, As both petrol and diesel prices are dearer than over the border.
Asda keeps saying that they charge the same at all their fuel pumps not in Scotland they don’t. Can be as much as 8 or 10p more up here.
Diesel prices are a rip off. Most places are charging 10p a litre more than petrol. The RAC & others have said diesel is now cheaper to produce & no more tax has been put on it. So it should be 1.7p per litre more than petrol! So why has the difference gone up from 4p to on average 10p? Petrol companies & supermarket greed!!!!
We have Morrisons in Ross and they are Consistently 10 p per litre dearer than Asda. They have the monopoly so overcharge on everything so I boycott them
No, only Asda are leading the way now. Maybe the other supermarkets will get it only when they experience loss of custom – so boycott other garages and go to your local Asda!
Yes prices should definately drop far more for Diesel as the UK Government is increasing the cost of an Mot. The cost of VED. All the time Car Insurance and all the excesses have been increasing in price. New parts for your car have been going up partly because of the devaluation of the pound due to brexit. So I hope someone will put more pressure on this UK Government to stop hitting car drivers enough is enough. Lowering Diesel and petrol prices gives some money back to spend on increasing energy bills.
All our supermarkets in the Watford, Hemel Hempstead area are competing on price with each other, I.e Sainsbury’s, Asda and Tesco. Nearby Shell garages also make sure their prices are close. So RAC probably incorrect.
As with most people I will continue to shop around for the cheapest prices and use them and do my shopping at the same time..
Just filled up myself at an independent Texaco station. £1.18 per litre. Stuff supermarkets.
Petrol or diesel?
Unleaded
If aupermarkets want peoples custom,they should not be so greedy,and entice drivers to do their shopping there.
The government is ripping us all off, it is always the motorists which as to pay the price, and before you say you can walk or cycle not all of the people can do that due to been disabled etc………….
so why has he gap between petrol and diesel increased, at one time they were virtually the same price