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Supermarket chains Asda, Sainbury’s and Tesco have announced that they are cutting the price that they charge for petrol and diesel over the weekend, a new round in the ongoing fresh price war between major retailers.
Tesco, Britain’s biggest supermarket, was the first to confirm the move, announcing that from Friday it is cutting the cost of petrol and diesel by 2p per litre at all of its 500 petrol stations.
That was followed by similar announcements by Sainsbury and Asda. Both said that they would reduce prices starting from Saturday.
Motorists will pay no more than £1.13 per litre for petrol and £1.15 for diesel at Asda's 301 filling stations. While Sainsbury's will cut prices by 2p at its 306 forecourts.
It is the second set of price cuts at supermarket filling stations this month and follows a recent fall in oil prices. Brent crude slipped below $50 this week for the first time since November, according to Reuters data.
Luke Bosdet, of the AA, said he was concerned that the so-called supermarket fuel price war does not actually benefit all drivers across the UK.
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"Our main concern will be with prices in small market towns without a supermarket presence. They very often become the land that fair prices forgot," Mr Bosdet said.
According to Government figures, UK motorists were being charged an average of £1.19 per litre for petrol and £1.22 for diesel earlier this week.
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