Supermarkets hit back at ‘high’ fuel price claims

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has hit back at claims that fuel at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons is being charged at “far higher prices than they should be.”

Motoring group the RAC has demanded a 5p per litre reduction in petrol and diesel prices to reflect current declining wholesale costs, as its spokesman Simon Williams said “it’s very sad to see the biggest fuel retailers taking advantage of their customers.”

However, the BRC has shut down the claims pointing out that supermarket fuel prices are cheaper than the national average and that they “will do everything they can” to maintain prices that are as low as possible.

Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free

Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning

Last week, the RAC said profit margins at these supermarket giants stood at roughly 15p per litre at average prices of 161p per litre for petrol and 184.4p for diesel, 2p per litre lower than the average price at UK forecourts.

However on average, supermarkets typically charge around 3.5p per litre less than UK forecourts.

Williams added that “the supermarkets dominate UK fuel retailing, primarily because they have traditionally sold petrol and diesel at lower prices due to the large volumes they sell.

“Sadly there is now a remarkable lack of competition among the four main players which means prices are far higher than they should be.

“There are smaller, independent forecourts offering more competitive prices than supermarkets, so drivers should shop around.”

BRC director of food and sustainability added: “Retailers understand the cost pressures facing motorists and will do everything they can to continue to offer the best value-for-money across their forecourts, passing on cost reductions as they feed through the supply chain.”