TESCO yesterday shaved 3p off the price of a litre of fuel as Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, demanded motorists share in the benefits of falling oil prices.
The supermarket cut petrol and diesel prices at its 430 forecourts in the UK, after a penny cut by Asda earlier in the week.
Last night, the average price of a litre of unleaded across the UK was 109p a litre, and 120p a litre for diesel.
The
announcement came as Mr Brown called on Opec, the oil producers' consortium, not to slash production in an effort to drive up the price of crude oil.
It fell to around $79 a barrel, compared with more than $140 at the start of the summer – when the outcry over soaring prices forced Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, to abandon plans to increase fuel duty by 2p a litre.
The Prime Minister also made clear that he wanted the fall in oil prices to be reflected at the petrol pumps and in the domestic energy bills of consumers.
He claimed, "We have had some success in getting the price of oil down" adding: "Let us make sure these price changes in oil are passed on to the hard-pressed consumer."
Research by the House of Commons revealed that, in the year to July, petrol and diesel prices rose by 31 per cent – though it took until April for motorists to reduce their fuel consumption in response.
The researchers said fuel prices generated a larger amount of attention than gas and electricity hikes because motorists filled up their cars more often, and prices were advertised on every forecourt.
Mr Brown called for greater "stability" in oil prices. adding: "We are determined that just as people act quickly to pass on the rise when the oil prices rises, they pass on the fall when the oil price falls.
"I'm talking to the leaders of Opec who are responsible for setting the oil price and telling them they must not cut oil production now so that the price will go up again."
But the Petrol Retailers' Association warned motorists not to expect further quick drops in prices at the pumps.
Spokesman Ray Holloway said it was "very difficult" to judge how far prices would drop because of the lag between oil-barrel prices and those of petrol sales. Referring to the drop in crude prices, he said: "That is for the delivery of oil in one month or three months' time. It's not the oil that is in the system."
Luke Bosdet, a spokesman for the AA, said: "It's good to see that somebody other than Morrisons and Asda is taking the lead in dropping prices. Obviously, we will be keeping watch to see whether we have got some towns, where petrol is 3p cheaper now. We think it is quite unfair that you can be charged extra for filling up a tank just for living in the wrong town."
The full article contains 500 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
