Asda to cut price of petrol and diesel

Asda is to cut up to three pence per litre off fuel prices as it announced a national price cap.

The supermarket giant said motorists will be charged no more than 110.7 pence per litre (ppl) for unleaded and 112.7ppl for diesel at its 294 filling stations across the UK.

Government figures show that average fuel prices have reached their highest level since July last year, with motorists being charged 116.6ppl for petrol and 119ppl for diesel.

Prices have risen in recent months following a crash in the value of sterling in the wake of the EU referendum.

The RAC claimed that although Asda's price cut was "clearly good news", it has come "far too late" as the wholesale price of fuel has been falling along with oil prices since the end of October.

Simon Williams, the motoring organisation's fuel spokesman, said: "Retailers should have reduced their prices then rather than making one bigger headline-grabbing cut now.

"This will sadly undermine motorists' trust in fuel retailers and it's hard not to see it as them taking advantage of the current climate, which has led people to think that higher fuel prices are an inevitability simply because of the weaker pound and talk of the rising cost of goods.

"In fact there is still scope to reduce pump prices further."

AA president Edmund King said: "Asda's price cut will take some of the sting out of the high pump prices that followed the crash in the value of the pound.

"Yo-yo oil prices mean that we may see costs reverse yet again but the AA very much welcomes Asda's policy of passing on savings when they can. Other retailers should take note."

Asda's senior director for petrol, Andy Peake, said: "Asda is once again leading the way in reducing the price at the pumps to help the millions of motorists across the UK.

"Our new national price cap of 110.7ppl on unleaded and 112.7ppl on diesel will be welcomed by the millions of drivers who have seen fuel prices rise since Brexit."