Asda: Supermarket to display live fuel prices online following Government pressure

Supermarket chain Asda will display daily fuel prices live online for the first time after pressure from the Government and the UK competition watchdog on supermarkets. The Leeds-based company claimed it will be the first supermarket to publish all local fuel prices online.

It said prices for each filling station will be available alongside other key information on the Asda Store Locator pages on its website. Prices will be available at 10.30am each day and will show the previous day’s closing price, the retailer said.

A spokesman for the business said that “by sharing our prices online customers will be able to find the best value at the pumps before they get in the car”. Asda added that it is continuing to work with the Government as it develops an industry-wide fuel finder scheme.

Asda’s latest move comes weeks after pressure from MPs and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regarding fuel pricing in the sector. The CMA found that average supermarket fuel margins rose by 6p per litre between 2019 and 2022 after it looked into concerns over profiteering on fuel.

That led to an estimated combined additional cost of “around £900 million” for customers of Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, a CMA report said.

Energy Secretary Grant Shapps later met with supermarket and petrol station bosses to tell them “enough is enough” over petrol prices for customers. The Government called on supermarkets to sign up to the CMA’s voluntary scheme to share up-to-date petrol and diesel prices.

Asda bosses came under particular scrutiny over pricing after bosses were called back in front of MPs last month to defend their pricing.

The CMA had said Asda’s pence-per-litre fuel margin targets were three times their 2019 level by 2023 and it deliberately passed on reductions to retail prices more slowly in areas where it had no competition.