Big stores to cut price of petrol by 2p

FUEL prices have been cut by up to 2p a litre by two supermarket chains from today – a day after petrol increased to a new record.

The move came as motorists faced continued uncertainty over a possible tanker drivers’ strike, with their union now being given until Tuesday to call any stoppage, pending peace talks on Monday.

Asda said it would reduce prices at its 195 forecourts by up to 2p from today, with motorists paying no more than 138.7p a litre for petrol and no more than 143.7p a litre for diesel.

Sainsbury’s responded by saying it would cut prices by up to 2p “in many of our stores”.

A spokeswoman said: “We compete with thousands of petrol stations around Britain and we regularly check our prices against those of our competitors as our priority is always to deliver the best prices for our customers.”

The Automobile Association’s monthly fuel price report, published yesterday, showed after a brief halt following weeks of increases, the average UK price of petrol had gone up to 142.48p a litre.

Diesel, at 147.88p a litre on average, is now just short of the record price which was set last week.

Talks to try to settle the tanker drivers’ dispute over working conditions and safety are due to be held at the conciliation service Acas on Monday.