Fuel prices tumbling

Petrol today dropped to its lowest price for 16 months after 2p was cut from unleaded – and diesel prices followed.

Supermarket Morrisons sparked the latest cuts by dropping unleaded petrol to 97.9p and diesel to 109.9p. Asda quickly followed suit, announcing the same prices from tomorrow at its 172 forecourts.

And other sellers, including BP, today announced identical cuts, taking the cost of a litre of fuel to its lowest since July last year.

Today's move by Morrisons comes five days after it announced an earlier cut.

Morrisons in Bilston and Burntwood were among those cutting prices today.

It means that an unleaded car owner with a 45-litre tank will today be spending £8 less filling up than they were just three months ago when prices were at their highest.

Morrisons chief executive Marc Bolland said: "We're leading the market again with prices under 98p a litre. It is great news for motorists."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown last night called on energy firms to slash fuel bills as gas and oil costs continue to tumble.

With winter approaching, Mr Brown urged suppliers to pass on their savings from declining wholesale prices to hard-pressed consumers.

Last week, he insisted that falling oil prices should be reflected at the petrol pumps.

Mr Brown said: "Now that global oil and gas prices are falling, we will demand that energy companies pass on these cuts to their customers as price reductions as soon as possible."

Pressure has been building on garages and energy suppliers to cut prices as the cost of oil has fallen to less than half its 147 dollar-a-barrel high seen in July.