Supermarkets criticised over fuel pricing

Supermarket forecourts have announced fuel price cuts for the second time in just over a week due to a drop in wholesale costs, however they have been for not acting more quickly.

Motoring organisations hit out over the length of time it has taken supermarkets to pass on the cost reductions to their customers.

Simon Williams the RAC fuel spokesman criticised supermarkets for not acting more quickly and passing the savings on to customers from “weeks of falling wholesale costs.”

He added, “The cost retailers have been paying to buy in petrol and diesel, and the price they charge at the pumps, have been severely out of kilter for weeks.

“In fact, we had a bizarre and desperately unfair situation where the supermarkets were putting up prices when wholesale costs were falling, meaning drivers were paying far more to fill up than they should have been.”

Williams has urged forecourt owners to switch to daily price reductions and move away from “headline grabbing cuts.”

Government figures published on Tuesday reveal the average fuel prices at the pumps stood at 125.85p per litre for petrol and 131.48p per litre for diesel.

Luke Bosdet the AA’s fuel price spokesman said less than 2p of the recent 5p per litre faill in diesel wholesale costs were passed on by retailers before the price cuts were announced.

He said, “For those craftsmen, rural workers and small businesses who rely on this workhorse fuel, hiked pump prices deny them the chance to offset other rising costs that leave them struggling.”

Asda’s senior fuel buyer, Dave Tyrer said, “We will continue to put the savings straight back into drivers’ pockets without any vouchering requirements meaning all our customers, regardless of their budget, will benefit from a price cut at the pumps.”

On Wednesday Asda, who was the first supermarket to announce they are cutting fuel prices and customers will pay no more than 118.7p per litre for petrol and 120.7p per litre for diesel.