Petrol 'price war' breaks out among supermarkets but only the 'lucky few' in certain parts of UK enjoy drop in cost

The AA said supermarkets were going “head to head on fuel” in areas of the UK.
The AA said supermarkets were going “head to head on fuel” in areas of the UK.
Joe Giddens
George McMillan

By George McMillan


Published: 21/01/2023

- 11:22

Updated: 14/02/2023

- 10:21

Motorists have been left 'livid' as petrol prices drop drastically just 10 miles away

A petrol price war has broken out between UK supermarkets but only a lucky few in parts of the UK will enjoy the sudden drop in cost.

Greater Manchester supermarket petrol last weekend was as much as 13p per litre cheaper in Ashton-under-Lyne.


File photo dated 16/03/22 of a display sign at a Shell petrol station in Leamington Spa, as Shell has revealed it will pay around two billion dollars (1.7 billion) in UK and EU windfall taxes for the latest quarter.
A petrol price war has broken out between UK supermarkets but only a lucky few in parts of the UK will enjoy the sudden drop in cost.
Jacob King

The AA said supermarkets were going “head to head on fuel” in the areas.

Price cuts have primarily been seen in northern England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

The price of petrol in Northern Ireland is currently 10p cheaper than London and southern England, while Wales is 6p cheaper.

AA fuel price spokesman Luke Bosdet said: “Discovering that supermarket petrol or diesel is £5 to £7 a tank more expensive than just 10 miles down the road is guaranteed to leave drivers livid.

EMBARGOED TO 0001 SATURDAY NOVEMBER 12 File photo dated 02/09/21 of E10 petrol pumps at a Petrol Station in Liverpool. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is being urged to extend the 5p cut in fuel duty amid the %22nightmare%22 of high costs for motorists. The AA said when then-chancellor Rishi Sunak announced earlier this year that the 5p fuel duty cut represented the biggest cut ever, it was set to remain in place until March 2023. Issue date: Saturday November 12, 2022.
The price of petrol in Northern Ireland is currently 10p cheaper than London and southern England, while Wales is 6p cheaper.
Peter Byrne

“It just doesn’t make sense, particularly when other essentials like bread, milk and eggs are pretty much the same price wherever you go.

“Say, for instance, a supermarket lures you into their store with a voucher offering £6 off a £60 shopping bill.

“To find out that that supermarket clawed back all that saving, and perhaps £1 on top of that, at the pump, compared to a superstore in a neighbouring town, will quite rightly lead to a howl of protest.

“The retailers only get away with it because the fuel price transparency that the Competition and Markets Authority recommended to the Government in October doesn’t yet exist, except in Northern Ireland.”

On average, UK petrol prices are down to the same levels seen this time last year, seeing falls of 4.4p for petrol and 5.0p for diesel since before Christmas.

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