By Ilaria Grasso Macola
The RAC has called on Big Four supermarkets such as Tesco to further cut fuel prices as diesel and petrol prices fell by around 9 per cent in December.
Data published today by the motoring group show that petrol went down by 8.4p to 151.1p per litre in December, whilst diesel decreased by 9.4p to 173.9p per litre.
This brought down the price of filling up a 55-litre family car by £4.63 and £5.19, for petrol and diesel respectively.
Nevertheless, the RAC has called on supermarkets to slash fuel costs by a further 11p, as the wholesale price of petrol and diesel has remained unchanged after falling in mid-October.
The wholesale price of petrol was at 106p a litre throughout December, while diesel stationed at 123.4p.
RAC fuel spokesperson Simon Williams said the price of fuel at the Big Four supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons – are “nowhere near where they should be given the scale of the drop in wholesale prices.”
“We hope the business secretary’s intervention just before Christmas puts more pressure on larger retailers to do the right thing,” he added.
Luke Bosdet, road fuel spokesperson at the AA, told City A.M. that “bloated pump prices” are not just a supermarkets’ problem.
“Focusing purely on supermarkets lets bigger oil company-supplied chains off the hook,” Bosdet added.
According to Bosdet, the best way to ensure motorists aren’t overcharged is to role out a fuel price checker tool throughout the UK, similar to the one used by the Consumer Council in Northern Ireland.
The interactive map allows motorists to check where prices are lower by showing the average cost of diesel and petrol in towns and cities across the country.
“The fuel price checker is now tried, tested and bringing huge benefits to drivers in Northern Ireland,” Bosdet added. “It has the power to transform road fuel pricing in 2023.”
“What’s more, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has already recommended that the government get on with it,” he added.
The data comes amid an ongoing market study launched by the CMA after the government asked the watchdog to look at whether the cut in fuel duty announced in March was passed onto customers.
In an update published in early December, the CMA didn’t find any evidence that higher prices at the pump were caused by competition problems.
The watchdog is set to publish its decision on whether to turn the market study into an investigation on Saturday.
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