Big 4 grocers, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, along with several other suppliers have faced criticism for failing to reduce petrol prices in line with falling wholesale costs.
According to the RAC, the cuts are not enough to be in line with the wholesale costs, as many wholesalers have already slashed prices.
The wholesale cost of petrol has fallen by 20p since early June. This comes after fuel prices hit their highest-ever levels earlier this summer as the UK’s cost-of-living crisis began to bite.
However, many UK retailers continued to increase their prices in June and only dropped their pump prices by an average of 9p during July, the roadside recovery firm said.
Currently, the price of unleaded petrol is now back down to its early May price of 131.75p per litre, which saw average pump prices of around 167p per litre.
READ MORE: Asda slashes petrol prices to ‘help motorists save money’
“July has been an unnecessarily tough month for drivers due to the big four supermarkets’ unwillingness to cut their prices to a more reasonable level, reflecting the consistent and significant reductions in the wholesale cost of petrol and diesel,” RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said.
“As it was, we saw independent retailers leading the charge, with fairer pump prices appearing all around the country, which eventually forced the supermarkets to finally implement a more substantial cut late last Friday afternoon.
“What ought to have happened is that the biggest retailers cut their prices more significantly on a daily basis, given the wholesale price of petrol has fallen steadily over the last eight weeks.”
AA president Edmund King also criticised major retailers for failing to drop prices, branding it “unforgivable”.
“Average UK pump prices are down by around 9.5p a litre for petrol and 7p for diesel compared to early July. But, since early June, wholesale petrol is down 20p-25p a litre depending on whether or not you factor in VAT.
He said: “In many areas of Britain, a 10p-a-litre drop in pump prices is still a ‘pumpdream’. And that is where the fuel trade is forcing struggling drivers to play the pump-price postcode lottery.
“When you consider that many small independents have been slashing 10p and sometimes 15p off fuel, because lower costs have allowed it, the failure of bigger forecourts to do likewise is pretty unforgiveable.”
Kind also revealed AA have provided the Competition and Markets Authority evidence which shows the fuel market is less competitive than the past, and called on the government to deliver more fuel price transparency.
A spokesman for Sainsbury’s said: “We are committed to offering motorists great value, and over the weekend we lowered the price of petrol and diesel across our forecourts. We price locally and competitively.”
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