Black Country petrol station slashes 16p off fuel prices - and could cut costs further

Himley Road Service Station in Gornalwood reduced its petrol price from 188.9p to 172.9p over the weekend, while diesel prices have gone down from 198.9p to 190.9p.

The reduction has made the garage one of the cheapest filling stations in the Black Country, matching another filling station in Wolverhampton which charges a similar price.

Owner PS Rana, said a new delivery had allowed him chop such a large amount off his prices.

"The last couple of days the average price has gone way down to give people a breather," he said. "Everybody is paying too much and really struggling."

Mr Rana said his costs have gone down, allowing him to pass those savings on to his customers. Hopefully prices continue to go down and I will be able to cut down even further," he said.

The filling station owner said customers had not moaned as prices increased and blamed the government for not doing anything, knowing they have to charge prices to pay for their staff and power.

Cheaper prices have traditionally been the domain of supermarkets, however many of them are still charging near the UK average, leading the motoring group to urge retailers, particularly supermarkets, to cut prices which have been "falling for six straight weeks now, as a result of the lower oil price".

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: "Certainly, the days of fuel ‘price wars’ – where the supermarkets simultaneously cut their prices and made a big deal of doing so – appear to be well and truly over. Instead, supermarkets seem to prefer to battle over grocery prices which, while helpful, is ignoring the huge sums households are having to fork out for fuel to keep their cars running.

“Last month, the cost of filling a typical 55-litre family-sized car with petrol rose by a record £9.12, with diesel just behind at £8.59. For a car that does 40 miles to the gallon, that means it costs a driver around 22p for every mile they drive – up from around 16p at the start of the year. Drivers are desperate for some relief at the pumps yet, with a few notable exceptions, few retailers seem to be willing to price their fuel fairly.

“Drivers who fill up at supermarket forecourts have every right to feel let down that they are being charged well over the odds for petrol and diesel right now."

Speaking about supermarket prices, Mr Rana said: "I'm surprised as they are big boys. I'm only a one-petrol-station-owner. They can sell it at cost price or less to pull the crowds in and put a couple of pence on milk, and they can make their margin."

Industry representatives said larger retailers are slower to pass on price rises and cuts as they buy fuel further in advance, and cited the Competition and Markets Authority report which noted that the reduction in refining capacity appears to have driven up the 'refining spread' - the gap between the price of crude oil entering refineries and the wholesale price leaving them.

The CMA report also noted that "the fuel duty cut appears to have been implemented, with the largest fuel retailers doing so immediately and others more gradually".

Andrew Opie, Director of Food & Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, added: “Retailers understand the cost pressures facing motorists and will do everything they can to offer the best value-for-money across petrol and diesel forecourts, passing on cost reductions as they feed through the supply chain.”

The Express & Star asked a number of supermarkets about its prices.

A Morrisons spokesperson said: "In the UK petrol prices vary from town to town and even neighbourhood to neighbourhood and we will always strive to be competitive in each local area. Occasionally this can mean price differences between different areas open up. We continually review our prices and will look to reduce this difference as soon as we can."

Sainsbury's, Asda and Tesco were all contacted for comment.

Cheapest petrol around the Black Country

• TotalEnergies Blakenhall Service Station, Dudley Road, Wolverhampton - 172.6p

• Texaco Himley Road Service Station, Gornalwood, Dudley - 172.9p

• Jet Wednesbury Road Service Station, Walsall - 172.9p

• M6Toll Norton Canes Service Area, Cannock - 174.9p

• Esso Ablewell Service Station, Ablewell Street, Walsall - 176.8p

• Shell MFG Bluecoats, Springhill Road, Walsall - 176.9p

• Morrisons, Wallows Lane, Walsall - 179.7p

• Asda, Ventura Park Road, Tamworth - 179.7p

• Asda, Jack Haywood Way, Wolverhampton - 179.9p

• Texaco Westcross Service Station, School Road, Wombourne - 179.9p

• Esso RSS Colliery, Hamstead Road, Great Barr - 179.9p

• Esso Stadium, Pye Green Road, Cannock - 179.9p

• Chaddesley Garage, Kidderminster Road - 179.9p

Cheapest diesel around the Black Country

• TotalEnergies Blakenhall Service Station, Dudley Road, Wolverhampton - 183.6p

• Morrisons, Wallows Lane, Walsall - 189.7p

• Texaco Westcross Service Station, School Road, Wombourne - 189.9p

• Jet Wednesbury Road Service Station, Walsall - 189.9p

• Chaddesley Garage, Kidderminster Road - 189.9p

• Esso Stadium, Pye Green Road, Cannock - 189.9p

• Texaco Himley Road Service Station, Gornalwood, Dudley - 190.9p

• Shell Mill Service Station, Dudley Road, Stourbridge - 191.9p

• BP St Johns Service Station, St Johns Road, Stourbridge - 191.9p

• Morrisons, Market Street, Bilston - 192.7p

• Morrisons, Trouse Lane, Wednesbury - 192.7p

• Asda, Wednesbury Oak Road, Tipton - 192.7p

• Asda, Wolverhampton Road, Oldbury - 192.7p

Prices according to petrolprices.com on Monday morning.