Supermarkets in the UK have slashed the price of diesel, making the fuel cheaper than petrol for the first time in the country in 15 years.
Tesco, Morrisons and Asda have dropped the price of diesel by up to two pence per litre just days after the AA said that fuel retailers had been "plundering ordinary diesel car drivers to the tune of 4p to 6p a litre" since April.
Asda said drivers will now pay no more than 112.7 pence per litre (ppl) across its 272 filling stations, while unleaded remains at 114.7ppl.
Tesco will implement the lower prices this afternoon, while the price change will come into effect at Asda tomorrow.
But a "handful" of Morrisons fuel stations will sell diesel at a higher price than unleaded because of "local competitive factors".
At the end of last week, the average price of diesel per litre was 118.21p compared to 116.75p for unleaded, according to PetrolPrices.com.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: "This latest price cut means we are now well on the way to seeing a UK fuel price flip - where the average price of diesel is, quite rightly, cheaper than unleaded at the pumps.
“This move should be the catalyst to bring the average price of diesel down from 118.98p per litre to below unleaded's current price of 117.24p per litre.
"RAC Fuel Watch records show diesel was last cheaper than petrol 15 years ago on 17 July 2001, so it's great news for the 10.7m diesel car drivers. Fifteen years ago, when this happened last, diesel was cheaper than petrol for two and a half months, but with a new supply of diesel being produced from Saudi Arabia there is real chance that we may see the diesel price staying below petrol for some considerable time."
