The RAC has welcomed the latest round of fuel-price cuts, which has seen the major supermarkets cut up to 2ppl on petrol and diesel.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams: “This is great news for motorists and we hope it will spark a price-cut frenzy on forecourts across the country. Supermarkets are proving that they are prepared to react to falling wholesale prices by passing on the benefit to families just ahead of the busy summer holiday season.

“The oil price, the biggest variable affecting UK fuel prices, is now at its lowest level in more than six months. This is due to increased oil output from the United States, which has been counteracting the production cut introduced some months ago by OPEC and other countries in a bid to try to boost the oil price. The pound has also gained against the dollar lately – meaning the outlook for lower priced fuel over the weeks ahead is positive.”

Sainsbury’s was the first supermarket to slash fuel prices by up to 2ppl ahead of the weekend.

Izzy Hexter, Sainsbury’s fuel buying manager, said: “We hope this will bring a little bit of sunshine to millions of motorists braving the rain over the next few days. “At Sainsbury’s we always aim to provide our customers with fantastic prices and great quality across every one of our products and services, so we hope this price drop will help them keep costs down over the summer - whatever the weather.”

The other supermarkets soon followed. Asda’s senior buying manager for petrol, Dave Tyrer said: “Asda is well known for having the lowest fuel prices around and we’ve cut our already market- leading price further – by up to 2ppl - to mean our customers won’t pay more than 110.7ppl for petrol or diesel at any of our 307 petrol stations nationwide.”