RAC calls on supermarkets to cut petrol prices to ease cost of living crisis
RAC has urged supermarkets to cut petrol and diesel prices by 5p per litre to ease the pressure on struggling Brits ahead of Christmas, with the cost-of-living crisis eating into peoples’ wallets.
The motoring group’s ‘Fuel Watch Data’ reveals supermarkets are currently enjoying margins of around 15p per litre on both petrol and diesel, while drivers are facing historically high average prices of 160.96p and 184.41p respectively.
It calculates that if supermarkets were to be taking a lower average margin of 10p a litre on both fuels, they would be selling petrol for 152p and diesel for 173p – around 9p less for petrol than they are currently and 11p less for diesel.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “With many people struggling to put fuel in their cars it’s very sad to see the biggest fuel retailers taking advantage of their customers by charging far higher prices than they should be. This is unfortunately a perfect example of prices falling like a feather, the opposite of them rocketing up as soon as the wholesale price rises significantly.”
He noted that supermarkets have dominated fuel retailing in recent decades, but that this position was established through low pricing.
Williams argued the current situation reflected “a remarkable lack of competition among the four main players” which means prices are far higher than they should be.
The Big Four supermarkets are typically considered to be Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s – which are all engaged in the fuel retail business.
He said: “If one of the supermarkets were to lead a round of price cuts, the others would follow suit which, in turn, would bring the average price of fuel down for the benefit of drivers everywhere.
“As it stands, there are smaller, independent forecourts offering more competitive prices than supermarkets so drivers should shop around.”
When approached for comment, an Asda spokesperson said: “Asda is the price leader in the supermarket fuel sector and we remain focused on providing our customers with the best value at the pumps.”
The three other Big Four supermarkets have also been contacted for comment.