At last – 99p petrol is here… in Birmingham
Motorists can finally fill up their tanks for less than £1 a litre – as long as they’re prepared to drive to the Midlands.
The bargain petrol went on sale at the Harvest Energy service station in Birmingham for 99.7p.
The motoring organisation RAC said the price was the lowest it had seen in the UK, and marked the first time since 2009 that filling up had been so cheap.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “We have been expecting to see the price of petrol come down to £1 per litre, or lower, for some time thanks to the decline in global oil price and retailers willing to make cuts at the pump on an almost weekly basis.
“It is usually the supermarkets that lead the way on price cuts this deep, so perhaps this will encourage them to make a similar move; but our feeling is it may be a while yet before others follow suit and go below £1 per litre, although it may well happen over the next few weeks.”
Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s have all cut prices in recent weeks, and may respond to the latest price dip at the pumps.
In commodity markets, oil prices have hit their lowest since April 2009. Brent was quoted down 56 cents at $49.55 a barrel yesterday, after touching a trough of $48.90 on Friday. US crude slipped 63 cents to $47.73 a barrel.
Opec, the cartel of oil-producing nations, has insisted it won’t lower its prices as it attempts to counter the rise of the US shale industry.