Tesco cuts petrol prices by 3p

Tesco is cutting the price of petrol by 3p, as oil prices drop to lowest level for a year.

The supermarket chain is dropping the price of unleaded and diesel by 3p per litre across its 430 UK forecourts. The decision follows a 1p cut by Asda earlier this week.

Crude oil prices in New York reached a low of $82 a barrel today, the lowest price since mid-October last year.

Petrol now costs 9% less than the record high of 119.9p per litre that it hit on July 17 this year.

Despite these cuts, Jack Semple, director of policy at the Road Haulage Association, said that hauliers are still paying around 20p more per litre than they were in April 2007, and that hauliers in the UK continue to pay more than those in Europe.

"We are concerned with the price of commercial diesel - the lifeblood of the economy," he told More Than Business News.

"The price difference between diesel and petrol is unhealthy. The chancellor could take this opportunity to increase the duty level on petrol by 5p and reduce the level on diesel by 5p. This would reduce costs to businesses, and the costs of getting food into shops."