SUPERMARKETS including Sainsbury’s and Asda have confirmed they will slash the price of fuel by 6p from this evening. It comes after the Chancellor announced a fuel duty cut in today’s Spring Statement. Fuel duty is being slashed by 5p until March next year but supermarkets are including a 1p reduction in VAT in the […]
SUPERMARKETS including Sainsbury’s and Asda have confirmed they will slash the price of fuel by 6p from this evening.
It comes after the Chancellor announced a fuel duty cut in today’s Spring Statement.
Fuel duty is being slashed by 5p until March next year but supermarkets are including a 1p reduction in VAT in the price drop.
The cut to fuel duty, announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak today, will reduce the price of filling up an average car by more than £3.
The price change will come into effect at forecourts from 6pm this evening.
But the timing could vary across the country as retailers rush to change the prices at the pumps tonight.
Asda was the first major retailer to confirm it will cut prices, with a 6p per litre reduction in petrol and diesel.
Sainsbury’s will also slash petrol prices by 6p today across all of its 315 garages.
Meanwhile, Morrisons confirmed prices at the pumps will be cut by 5p from 6pm.
Sainsbury’s boss Simon Roberts said: “We understand that the cost of living is a real challenge for many households and we are committed to helping our customers as much as we can.
“We welcome the Chancellor’s announcement today which will save motorists money and we are passing the cut to fuel duty to our customers at the pumps across every single one of our 315 forecourts from tonight.”
The RAC had warned the measure might only be reflected in pump prices once retailers purchase new fuel at the lower rate, as duty is charged on wholesale purchases.
But Sainsbury’s and Asda both said they will charge the lower price on fuel bought at the higher rate.
Retailers were accused of failing to pass on a reduction in wholesale costs earlier this month.
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Figures from data firm Experian Catalist show the average cost of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts on Tuesday was 167.3p, while diesel was 179.7p.
This is an increase of 18.0p per litre for petrol and 27.0p for diesel over the past month.
The Spring Statement also included major changes to the tax system, in a bid to tackle the cost of living crisis.
Mr Sunak announced that the earnings threshold at which people start paying National Insurance tax will be raised from £9,500 to £12,500.
It means hundreds of thousands of families will pay less – and some of the very lowest earners will dodge the extra charge altogether.
The government is also doubling the Household Support Fund to £1billion.
That means the schemes can be extended beyond the initial March 31 closing date.
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