Harrogate motorists benefitting from petrol price drop

Harrogate motorists are the winners as the cost of filling up continues to fall in the town.
NADV 1501053AM5 Petrol prices. (1501053AM5)NADV 1501053AM5 Petrol prices. (1501053AM5)
NADV 1501053AM5 Petrol prices. (1501053AM5)

Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Asda each reduced prices by 2p a litre on both petrol and diesel on Tuesday (January 6).

Unleaded petrol at Harrogate’s Asda supermarket on Bower Road has now dropped to 105.7p per litre with customers paying 112.7p per litre for diesel.

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Customers filling up at Morrisons at Hookstone Chase and Sainsbury’s on Wetherby Road, however, will pay slightly more for their petrol with unleaded costing 106.9p per litre and diesel at 113.9p at both of the stores.

The price decrease means Asda has now cut its fuel prices 14 times since the end of September, with 21p a litre coming off its petrol price in total and 17p off its diesel.

For Morrisons, this marks the seventh time that they cut fuel prices since December 1.

Each supermarket said they were delighted to cut the cost for customers.

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However, Harrogate resident Byron Lawton said he wanted to see further drops in the price of petrol as it is ‘still not proportionate’ to the cost of oil.

He said: “Everybody is cheering the fact that petrol might drop to £1 but it should only be about 60 or 70p per litre. It’s been far too much for too long.”

Despite the lowering fuel prices in competitive areas, the AA has warned that small rural towns are being ‘left behind’ but described the drops as ‘extremely welcome’.

AA president Edmund King said: “This continues to feather the fall in the national average.

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“We would love to see £1 per litre and we may possibly see it in many parts of the UK but it is unlikely that the average price will drop as quickly to the £1 level - partly because 70 per cent of the price is tax.

“There is still a price lottery out there so we advise drivers to shop around.”

The RAC were more optimistic about fuel returning to one pound per litre.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said he thought there was ‘still more room to cut further.’

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He said: “As other retailers followed Asda’s example we are ever closer to the £1 per litre average for petrol which the RAC said last month could be a possibility for the start of the new year.”

Brian Dunsby, chief executive of Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce said: “Everybody should be reducing the price of petrol not just the big supermarkets but they tend to take the lead.

“I would hope that businesses pass on the benefits to the customers just as we expect petrol suppliers to pass on the benefits of low oil prices.”