At last! Asda’s 2p drop kicks off price war at the pumps

SUPERMARKETS have set off a petrol price war only days after they were accused of using Brexit as an excuse to ‘fleece’ motorists.

Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s all cut prices yesterday by up to 2p per litre.

It follows the decision by Morrisons to cut the price of diesel by up to 2p a litre last month.

Campaign group FairFuel UK welcomed the move but said it was ‘too little, too late’ for millions of motorists who have been paying inflated prices for weeks.

The wholesale cost of petrol has fallen by 3p per litre since the referendum result on June 24 following a drop in the price of oil.

Despite this, retailers had stubbornly refused to cut prices. This has been a blow to families who have taken holidays in the UK this summer to save money because of the weak pound.

FairFuel UK has estimated that not passing on savings generated an extra £330million in profit for fuel retailers last month.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said it was a shame that the large-scale price drop ‘did not come sooner’.

He added: ‘This price cut takes us back to a supermarket price that was last seen in early May. ’

Howard Cox, founder of FairFuel UK, said: ‘I welcome these cuts but it’s not enough and it’s way too late.’