Supermarkets Slash Diesel Price For Second Time In A Week

Elsewhere, despite a fall in sales of 0.3 per cent, Sainsbury’s has edged its market share of 16.5 per cent ahead of Asda, which now stands at 16.4 per cent, a shift analysts credited to growth in Sainsbury’s Local outlets, and faster market growth in the south of the country.

The Walmart-owned supermarket has struggled this year with its lack of convenience stores and more customers heading for Aldi and Lidl, while a resurgent Sainsbury’s under chief executive Mike Coupe has managed to stem the flow of falling sales.

Latest data from analysts Kantar Worldpanel shows that neither Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda or Morrisons managed to rake in better sales in the 12 weeks to 19 July than in the same period past year.

However, some readers are sceptical about the headlines.

Tesco will not proceed with the development of 62 planned stores in the UK in order to cut down on costs.

Simon Williams, RAC fuel spokesman, said: ‘The RAC campaigns for retailers to sell fuel at a fair price to motorists.

However, experts said that diesel is still too expensive when compared to its wholesale price. So at the very least unleaded pump prices should be static at forecourts, if not coming down by 1p.’.

“We would hope this is not the end of the reductions as the price of diesel at the refinery gate is still 4p per litre cheaper than that of petrol”.

The cost of diesel in June 2014 was, on average, 136.1 pence-per-litre.

‘This compares with an average of around 116.6p / 116.7p a litre across the UK.

Filling up at the pumps at one of the branches of the supermarket chain will be two pence per litre cheaper.

‘When there isn’t a supermarket or an independent retailer nearby that likes to compete on price, higher prices are very often the result.

“The Big Four have an advantage because of their size already, but as they shelve stores it provides an opportunity for Aldi and Lidl to move into new areas while they concentrate on other parts of the business”, Dall added.