Supermarkets need to do more to cut petrol and diesel prices in order to match a drop in wholesale fuel. The RAC have slammed the retailers who aren't matching the "significant" decrease in wholesale fuel costs.
Several supermarkets, including the four major fuel sellers, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons are currently being undercut by a number of independent retailers that are passing on the wholesale cost savings to customers.
The RAC have said this change in behaviour is usually unheard of. Supermarkets have often been known to be the cheapest place to buy petrol and diesel because they buy fuel more frequently, meaning they can react quickly when wholesale prices move up or down.
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Simon Williams, RAC's fuel spokesman, told the BBC: "There appears to have been a big shift in the last few months in the behaviour of the four major supermarkets, which dominate UK fuel retailing, as they are now commonly being undercut by independent retailers that are passing on the wholesale cost savings they're benefitting from to drivers at the pumps.
"This is unheard of as the supermarkets are normally at least 3p a litre cheaper than the UK average."
As of Tuesday, August 11, the RAC reported that the average price of unleaded was 175.55p and diesel was 186.41p. Despite the wholesale costs of fuel coming down, many motorists are still struggling to fill their tanks up amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.
A recent fuel deal has become available this week though which may help motorists massively when it comes to filling their tanks up at the petrol pump.
Fuel prices reached record highs earlier this year but the RAC are reporting that the costs are slowly decreasing and there's now more of a gap between pump prices and wholesale prices, the widest since the RAC started monitoring them in 2013.
The RAC believes the biggest retailers’ failure to reduce petrol pump prices in line with the drop in the wholesale price of unleaded has cost drivers dear and is still doing so. The average petrol price at the big four supermarkets, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons, was £174.4 per litre, and diesel was £1.86 at the start of this week, according to the RAC.
At the end of July, the RAC estimated petrol should be around 167p a litre which means drivers filling up now are paying nearly £9 a tank more than they should be. And diesel should be closer to 182p – nearly £6 a tank lower than the end of July average.
On July 29, Asda said it cut its prices of unleaded by 5p per litre and diesel by 3p to help motorists save money when filling up their tanks. While Morrisons cut its petrol costs by an average of 6p a litre over the last week of July at all of its UK forecourts but the RAC say prices need to be even lower.
Williams said: “We continue to call on all major fuel retailers to go much further in reducing their prices in the coming days to ease some of the burden on drivers during what is the costliest summer ever on the roads.”
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