Price wars push petrol prices under £1 a litre

Petrol prices at Morrisons in Riversway, Preston, are advertised at less that a pound

The price drop means the price of petrol – now down to around £4.50 a gallon – is at its lowest since June 2009. In 2011 the price of petrol reached a whopping 134p a litre.

Experts reckon that compared to the peak of four years ago, the average car driver in Lancashire will have an extra £17 a week to spend on Christmas essentials.

Yesterday, petrol forecourts were doing brisk business in Lancashire.

One motorist at Asda in Fulwood said: “This is great while it lasts – but it would be nice if the price was always down.”

The Asda price drop, falling by 2p to 99.7p a litre, will last until tomorrow, while Morrisons said it hopes to keep its everyday price of 99.9p for “as long as possible”.

Tesco also dropped the price of unleaded petrol to 99.9p at all of its 500 filling stations. No end date has been set at the moment.

Sainsbury’s was today considering whether to follow suit. It was charging 101.9p per litre yesterday.

Asda said the price of diesel will also be cut to 103.7p per litre, while Morrisons will cut its by 1p.

An Asda spokesman said the promotion, due to run at all 277 of its filling stations until Sunday, reflects the savings it has made by the price of unleaded hitting a six-year low.

“It is the second time this week the retailer has cut the price of petrol to less than £1.

An Asda spokesman said the temporary fuel price cap was not a loss leader but part of its customer-led festive pricing regime.

Bryan Burger, petrol retail director at Morrisons, said: “This is a moment where motorists will feel some relief after being clobbered by tax and price rises for the last decade.”

Peter Cattell, Fuel Director for Tesco said: “We know that our customers really value low fuel prices and that having unleaded for 99.9p a litre will really give customers a boost over the festive period.”