Diesel prices fall below petrol with further reductions

Diesel prices have fallen below petrol for the first time in more than a decade with major supermarkets announcing price cuts.

Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco have all reduced their prices in recent weeks and the lowering of costs is set to continue with the chains promising further savings of an extra 2p per litre.

This is the third reduction made by Morrisons and Sainsbury's in less than three weeks, leading to debate surrounding whether petrol prices are too high.

It was 2001 when diesel was last cheaper than petrol, costing 77.92p per litre on average compared with 77.94p per litre of petrol, according to analysis by Experian Catalist.

Due to Morrisons latest efforts diesel prices are now 21p a litre cheaper than 12 months ago, and petrol director, Mark Todd, says they plan to look for opportunities to pass on savings on unleaded petrol as soon as they can.

Steve Gooding, Director of the RAC Foundation, states the reductions are welcome news but have been a long time coming.

"The wholesale price of diesel dropped below that of petrol back in May but only in the past week or so have we seen this starting to be reflected at the pumps.

"We would hope this is not the end of the reductions as the price of diesel at the refinery gate is still 4p per litre cheaper than that of petrol".

Fuel costs over the course of a lifetime can reach above £100,000, so cutting this down when possible is a major factor when it comes to buying a new car and deciding whether to go for petrol or diesel power is significant.

With so little to choose between diesel and petrol cars in terms of other features this shift in cost could go a long way in terms of making a decision for car buyers.