MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK petrol below £1 per litre for the first time in 2008

British consumers hit by the credit crunch had something to smile about at last when petrol dipped below the £1 a litre mark for the first time this year. There was more cheer for travellers when two major UK airlines - British Airways and Virgin Atlantic - announced a reduction in fuel surcharges.

The welcome reduction in pump prices came when oil giant BP and supermarket chains Asda and Morrisons all cut the price of a litre of unleaded petrol to 99.9p, with BP saying the new price would apply "at a number" of its outlets. Asda, whose petrol price had previously been 104.9p a litre, also reduced the cost of diesel from £116.9p a litre to 110.9p. A litre of diesel at Morrisons was cut to 111.9p, as was a litre of BP diesel. In addition, supermarket Sainsbury's said: "We are planning a price cut and will continue to monitor prices daily." This is the first time since last autumn that petrol has been under £1 in the UK, with unleaded going over 120p a litre and diesel over 130p during the worst of this year's price rises. The price of oil on world markets has fallen from a high of around 147 US dollars a barrel earlier this year to a 14-month low of around 75 dollars Wednesday. September last year in the UK unleaded cost an average 95.2p per litre, with diesel averaging at 96.9p.