Sainsbury’s has announced that from tomorrow - July 28 - it will be cutting the price of diesel by up to 2ppl across its 300 forecourts. This is the third time in less than three weeks that the company has dropped the price of diesel, among a slew of similar announcements by rival supermarkets, including Morrisons which triggered the cuts by putting prices down on Sunday (26), and Tesco, which is cutting prices by 2ppl from 1pm tomorrow. 

However analysts predict supermarkets could still afford to cut a further 4ppl on top of the latest announcements.

Avishai Moor, Sainsbury’s Head of Fuel, said: “From tomorrow we’re once again dropping the price of diesel by up to 2ppl at all our petrol stations. We know that fuel is a big expense, especially during the summer holidays, and we are committed to helping our customers go further for less.”

Peter Cattell, Fuel Director for Tesco said: “We know that saving money on fuel is really important to our customers, especially when the kids are on a school break and families are looking to enjoy days out together, so we’re dropping the cost of diesel by up to 2ppl at all of our 500 filling stations.”

Fiona Cincotta, a senior market analyst at www.finspreads.com said: “Sainsbury joined the petrol price war by slashing 2ppl off its diesel prices on Tuesday. The price cutting sparked by Morrisons will mean that diesel prices are likely to fall below those of unleaded for the first time since July 2001.

“Morrisons were quick to pass on the recent drop in wholesale diesel prices and given the current climate and intense competition between the big four supermarket chains, the other supermarkets have been quick to follow suit in an attempt not to lose business in the first week of the school holidays.”