Cheapest fuel prices in Shropshire as supermarkets undercut independents and costs rise
Supermarkets are now offering the cheapest fuel prices around Shropshire after months of independents setting the lowest rates.
All four of the major chains - Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco - have reduced their prices to offer the lowest petrol and diesel rates around the county.
Independent retailers have explained why their prices have changed in recent days.
In a statement, Griffiths Garage in Leintwardine - which has often been one of the cheapest around the county in recent months - warned its diesel prices are set to be more expensive, saying the firm was "out of tricks" to keep costs for drivers down and prices would be in the 180s, something they described as "vexing".
"We’re not sure how long we’ll be there, the market isn’t showing the volatility it had in previous spikes which is really hindering our chances of dodging this run of pricing," a spokesperson said.
"The good news is we think we’ll still be able to beat the wider market on unleaded. We’re going to be trying to get pricing moving back in the right direction as soon as we can."
RAC Fuel Watch data also shows the gap between the average price of petrol and diesel has surpassed 20p a litre for the first time ever. As of Wednesday drivers were paying an average of 163.13p for unleaded while diesel had climbed to nearly 184p (183.94p) – a difference of 20.35p a litre.
The motoring group said the wholesale price of refined fuel has increased since oil producer group OPEC+ announced it was cutting production by two million barrels a day.
RAC fuel spokesperson Simon Williams said: “Since OPEC and its allies agreed to reduce oil supply substantially we’ve seen the price of wholesale diesel go up by 9p a litre and petrol by 4p a litre. T
