Fleet operating costs could tumble if a prediction that the price of a litre of diesel could drop to £1 becomes a reality.
Britain’s leading supermarkets are engaged in a pump price battle that has seen Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda all shave 2p per litre off the cost of diesel and 1p off unleaded petrol, while Morrisons has slashed diesel prices by 4p to around 107p a litre. It also cut its petrol prices by 1p to an average of 112p a litre.
The RAC believes the battle could lead to the return of diesel at £1 a litre with a spokesman saying: “July was a bumper month for diesel vehicle drivers with the average price falling by 5p a litre, saving £3 on a fill-up.
“Now August is off to a flying start with another substantial cut which will help shave another couple of pounds off a tank of diesel.
“With an abundance of diesel, lower wholesale oil prices and the relatively strong pound against the dollar, there is a real prospect we will see diesel at £1 a litre. We would like to think that prices will now keep falling over the next few weeks as retailers pass on the savings in wholesale prices.
Production currently outstripping demand is the reason for the price cuts and they mean that diesel has become cheaper than petrol at garages for the first time since 2001, while the last time fuel prices were below £1 per litre was in 2008. According to price comparison website petrolprices.com the current average price of a litre of diesel is 113.77p with a litre of petrol costing 115.58p.
Fuel management is easy with Key2 Vehicle Management. Import fuel card information, manage mileage submissions from drivers, report on any field within the system – call Jaama on 0844 8484 333 to find out how we can help