Supermarkets have been urged to cut their fuel prices after being accused by the RAC of “taking advantage” of drivers.
The motoring organisation claims the UK’s biggest retailers aren’t lowering their prices - despite a recent dip in wholesale costs.
It means the supermarkets are now often not the cheapest place to get your petrol and diesel - with the RAC claiming that some independent forecourts now have better prices.
New analysis shows supermarkets are enjoying margins of around 15p a litre on both petrol and diesel. The RAC wants prices to be cut by around 5p a litre to make it fairer for motorists.
It claims drivers are currently paying an “unnecessarily high” average price of 160.96p for petrol and 184.41p for diesel at the supermarkets.
The RAC says this is only 2p lower than the UK average of 163.24p for unleaded - and 3p lower for diesel of 187.42p.
If the supermarkets were to cut prices by 5p a litre - which would mean taking a lower average margin of 10p a litre on both fuels - they would be selling petrol for 152p and diesel for 173p.
This is around 9p less for petrol than they are currently and 11p less for diesel, according to the RAC.
It comes after the price of delivered wholesale unleaded hit 130p a litre in mid-October, while diesel rose to nearly 158p. Prices have since dropped to 117p for petrol, and to 136p for diesel.
But the RAC claims the average price of petrol had only reduced from 165.36p to 160.96p on October 31, while diesel fell from 187.54p to 184.41p.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “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, but sadly there is now a remarkable lack of competition among the four main players which means prices are far higher than they should be.
“If one of the supermarkets were to lead a round of price cuts, the others would follow suit which, in turn, would bring the average price of fuel down for the benefit of drivers everywhere.
“As it stands, there are smaller, independent forecourts offering more competitive prices than supermarkets so drivers should shop around.“
He continued: “We urge the supermarkets to do the right thing by their customers and cut prices by at least 5p a litre immediately.
“But, if events of this time last year are anything to go by drivers might be in for some pre-Christmas disappointment because despite similar margins in 2021 the supermarkets failed to cut their prices significantly.“
A spokesperson from Asda said: "Asda is the price leader in the supermarket fuel sector and we remain focussed on providing our customers with the best value at the pumps.”
The Mirror has contacted Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons for comment.
