During this bank holiday weekend, motorists are finding pleasant surprises at the pumps. After months on end of steadily rising prices, this is good news indeed and motorists are lining up to fill their tanks before prices start to rise again, which they fully expect to happen soon.
Supermarkets in the UK have announced a 2p drop in prices per litre of unleaded as well as for diesel in approximately 1,250 locations. Amongst the major chains that have cut costs are Morrisons, Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s. The motorists group, AA has voiced their delight in these cuts because for months on end prices have been rising well beyond the rate of inflation in other consumables.
As recently as two weeks ago, petrol prices in the UK reached record highs of 147.9p a litre for diesel and only 2p less expensive for unleaded. Now with the recent price wars, consumers are lining up at pumps hoping that this is a trend and not just a bank weekend sale. Even so, this amount of savings will reduce the cost of a tank of petrol for the average family vehicle by about £1.50.
The head of public affairs for the AA stated that this downward movement in prices has come not a moment too soon and that it is the organisation’s hope that the lower prices won’t be stopping at the 2p mark. A spokesperson for Morrisons also noted that these lower prices should help consumers who are ‘cash strapped’ and the trading director for Asda confirmed that petrol prices have been difficult on motorists this year.
Even a 2p reduction in price is welcome news to consumers as this has been an extremely difficult year not only in the cost of petrol but also in energy prices across the board. If all energy including gas and electricity were to drop a bit, households might catch the break they have been waiting for since the push towards austerity has caused an economic crisis for those working families already finding it difficult to survive.
