Asda move sparks petrol price war
Asda says it is offering motorists "a fairer deal"
Asda has triggered a petrol price war after moving to cool prices by cutting unleaded and diesel to 79.9p a litre.
BP swiftly followed suit announcing it would slash prices by an average of 2p a litre - cutting the cost of unleaded to 81p and diesel to 82p a litre.
Meanwhile, Tesco vowed not to be beaten "in any location" on fuel prices and Sainsbury announced it would be "undercutting Asda" from Friday.
Surging oil prices have pushed UK prices above 83p a litre in many areas.
The increase in petrol prices had led to talk of fuel protests similar to those seen in 2000.
Asda says it is responding to a drop in prices after recent Opec talks, and has urged competitors to cut prices as well.
Prices in line
"In line with its commitment to offer motorists the best prices, Asda intends to pass these savings on to customers without any delay - a decision that flies in the face of recent oil company price rises," a company statement said.
It said bringing unleaded and diesel prices "into line" would offer all motorists a fairer deal and the chance to benefit from recent falls in crude prices.
The company said it was offering the lowest pump prices locally across the UK.
But Tesco later entered the fray saying it would uphold its location price promise to be "as cheap as everyone else" in any area.
"We won't be beaten, in any location, on the price of petrol," the group said.
"In addition we are also running a petrol promotion where customers can get 5p off per litre when they spend ?50 on shopping at our stores."
Some petrol prices have reached over 83p a litre recently
Sainsbury's also weighed into the battle vowing to undercut Asda on unleaded and diesel from Friday.
However, the group did add that it believed it was the company with the lowest fuel price in the country - saying the price of unleaded at one of its outlets in Thanet, Kent was 76.9p a litre.
According to the AA's Petrolbuster service, there are no towns or cities in the UK this week selling fuel for an average price of below 80p a litre.
Asda says it is offering motorists "a fairer deal"
Asda has triggered a petrol price war after moving to cool prices by cutting unleaded and diesel to 79.9p a litre.
BP swiftly followed suit announcing it would slash prices by an average of 2p a litre - cutting the cost of unleaded to 81p and diesel to 82p a litre.
Meanwhile, Tesco vowed not to be beaten "in any location" on fuel prices and Sainsbury announced it would be "undercutting Asda" from Friday.
Surging oil prices have pushed UK prices above 83p a litre in many areas.
The increase in petrol prices had led to talk of fuel protests similar to those seen in 2000.
Asda says it is responding to a drop in prices after recent Opec talks, and has urged competitors to cut prices as well.
Prices in line
"In line with its commitment to offer motorists the best prices, Asda intends to pass these savings on to customers without any delay - a decision that flies in the face of recent oil company price rises," a company statement said.
It said bringing unleaded and diesel prices "into line" would offer all motorists a fairer deal and the chance to benefit from recent falls in crude prices.
The company said it was offering the lowest pump prices locally across the UK.
But Tesco later entered the fray saying it would uphold its location price promise to be "as cheap as everyone else" in any area.
"We won't be beaten, in any location, on the price of petrol," the group said.
"In addition we are also running a petrol promotion where customers can get 5p off per litre when they spend ?50 on shopping at our stores."
Some petrol prices have reached over 83p a litre recently
Sainsbury's also weighed into the battle vowing to undercut Asda on unleaded and diesel from Friday.
However, the group did add that it believed it was the company with the lowest fuel price in the country - saying the price of unleaded at one of its outlets in Thanet, Kent was 76.9p a litre.
According to the AA's Petrolbuster service, there are no towns or cities in the UK this week selling fuel for an average price of below 80p a litre.
