Asda, Morrison's and Sainsbury's cut petrol and diesel prices as wholesale costs fall

The three retailers have lowered unleaded by 2p per litre and diesel by 1p per litre

Campaigners have accused retailers of refusing to pass on a fall in wholesale costs to consumers in recent weeks (PA)

Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s have all cut the price of fuel for the second time in two weeks as wholesale costs fall.

The three retailers have lowered unleaded by 2p per litre and diesel by 1p per litre. The change will offer a small amount of relief to motorists who have been hit this month with the highest fuel costs since September 2014.

At the start of the week, the average UK cost for a litre of unleaded was £1.28 and for diesel it stood at £1.32.

Petrol is now 13p a litre more expensive than it was a year ago thanks to soaring oil prices. The price of a barrel of Brent crude – the international benchmark – jumped from below $50 (£37.70) a year ago to close to $80 (£60) last month before dropping back to $73 (£55) on Thursday.

Campaigners have accused retailers of refusing to pass on that fall in wholesale costs to consumers.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “It’s great to see supermarkets passing on savings in the wholesale cost of fuel to motorists who have endured rising prices at the pumps since the end of March.

“A litre of petrol is now 13p more expensive than a year ago while diesel is 15p dearer, so every penny that comes off the forecourt price is very welcome.”

AA fuel price spokesman Luke Bosdet said UK drivers were being overcharged this week by 2p a litre or £1 a tank.

“One supermarket has been charging as much as 10p a litre or a fiver a tank more for petrol compared to other sites they own,” he said.

It came as Opec agreed on Friday to raise oil production by one million barrels per day – a move that could lower prices and lead to cheaper fuel.

The decision was a reversal of the strategy of the cartel of oil-producing countries which had restricted supply for the previous 18 months in order to boost prices.

It followed pressure from Donald Trump on the Saudi Arabian regime to turn on the taps to help boost the US economy ahead of November’s midterm elections.

“Hope Opec will increase output substantially. Need to keep prices down!” the US president tweeted after the decision. Despite the news, oil prices were up on Friday.