Asda cuts petrol price to under £1 a litre while ‘not participating’ in Black Friday

Asda has cut the price of a litre of unleaded petrol by 4p to 99.7p, taking the price of its fuel under the £1 for the first time since 2009, reports The Telegraph.

A litre of diesel, meanwhile, will cost 103.7p from Friday November 27 until Monday November 30, before reverting to its former price of 106.7p.

The “exclusive three-day price drop” happens to coincide with the weekend of Black Friday, the sales phenomenon that Asda loudly said it would not participate in this year.

In the Autumn Statement earlier this week, Chancellor George Osborne announced that the freeze on fuel duty would remain in place.

“The Chancellor’s freeze on fuel duty is what our customers were hoping for,” said Andy Clarke, Asda’s president and chief executive. “We’re adding a further boost by investing in a three-day fuel price drop meaning drivers can now benefit from fuel as low as 99.7p per litre in the crucial run-up to the festive period.”

The supermarket, which is owned by the US retail giant Wal-Mart, is credited with making Black Friday a mainstream event in the UK.

Scenes of chaos played out at the supermarket last year as consumers fell over each other in their rush to enter Asda stores to get their hands on discounted products.

Asda said it would not participate in Black Friday this year due to “shopper fatigue”.

Instead of one day of flash sales, the retailer has knocked £26m off the price of its products in deals that run across most of November and December, including £10 bottles of champagne, half-price Lego and Barbie sets and an Oral B 2500 electric toothbrush for £29.97, down from £75.

The cost of petrol has been falling as oil prices tumble. Crude oil futures have fallen around 9pc this month, hurt by disappointing Chinese economic data and worries over a supply glut.