Supermarket retailers have hit back at claims that their fuel prices are “taking advantage of customers” during the cost-of-living crisis. 

Asda petrol station

According to the BRC, fuel prices at supermarkets are cheaper than the national average

Speaking on behalf of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) pointed out that fuel prices at supermarkets were cheaper than the national average and insisted retailers “will do everything they can” to keep prices as low as they could at the pumps.

It came after motoring group the RAC said prices were “far higher” than they should be and demanded a 5p per litre reduction in the price of both petrol and diesel to reflect falling wholesale costs. 

The RAC said supermarkets’ profit margins stood at around 15p per litre last week, at average prices of 161p per litre for petrol and 184.4p for diesel.

That is 2p per litre lower than the average price at all UK forecourts, but supermarkets have historically charged around 3.5p per litre less than the UK average.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “With many people struggling to put fuel in their cars, it’s very sad to see the biggest fuel retailers taking advantage of their customers by charging far higher prices than they should be.

“This is unfortunately a perfect example of prices falling like a feather, the opposite of them rocketing up as soon as the wholesale price rises significantly.

“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.”

The BRC’s director of food and sustainability Andrew Opie said: “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.”

Oil prices fell to their lowest levels since January on Monday morning after the Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia and other oil producers were discussing increasing their output. 

But much of that decline was later wiped out when Saudi Arabia denied the reports. 

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