Petrol prices tumbling down

By SIMON MOON
Updated: 05:22 EST, 22 July 2008

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There was good news for motorists – and protesting hauliers – today as the price of fuel fell by up to 4p a litre at hundreds of garages and supermarkets across the country.

Pressure from Asda and Tesco, which announced cuts last night, forced oil giants Esso and BP to lower their prices, though BP seemed determined to delay as long as possible.

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From early this morning, a litre of unleaded fuel on Asda's 158 forecourts dropped to 89.9p - compared to this year's record high of 93.9p.

Prices also came down for diesel fuel with a new maximum price of 92.9p per litre at all stations. The company has pledged to publish its maximum prices on its website - www.asda.com - and is challenging other forecourt operators to do the same.

Tesco followed suit by cutting the price of its petrol in all of its 380 petrol stations by up to 4p a litre.

Following news of the supermarket price cuts, Esso confirmed that it is also dropping the cost of petrol and diesel prices at its service stations by up to 4p a litre.

A spokesman said: 'These reductions reflect the decreases in the international market prices for petrol and diesel. We are continuing with our long-running daily activity of monitoring of over 8,000 competitor pump prices to try to ensure Esso prices remain competitive.'

BP confirmed it was reviewing pricing at 400 company-owned stations and will make recommendations to 900 dealers who operate branded operations.

A spokeswoman said the cost of fuel at its sites could fall before the end of the day, but later it appeared they would not take effect until over the weekend.

The price cuts are likely to be met with annoyance by motorists who rushed to fill up their tanks - some at at more than £1 a litre - in the run-up to Wednesday's threatened protests that turned out to be a flop.

Meanwhile, police in Wales moved to limit the disruption caused by a motorway go-slow designed to paralyse the M4. They warned protesting hauliers, farmers and taxi drivers that they would be arrested if they caused too much trouble.

A recent drop in the price of crude oil may mean motorists are in line for more good news in days to come. The cost of crude slipped below $65 a barrel yesterday amid signs that petroleum supplies were recovering and the recent price hike had reduced demand.

According to recent predictions by Opec, the producers' cartel, world oil demand is set to grow at a slower rate than previously expected. At a meeting on Monday, Opec members will discuss whether to increase production, which would help keep prices down.