Motorists see fuel prices cut after oil dips below $50
Written by News on 05/05/2017
Supermarkets have cut fuel prices for the second time this week after global oil prices dipped below $50 a barrel.
Morrisons said it was cutting unleaded petrol and diesel by up to 2p per litre, saying it was in response to the drop in Brent crude on Thursday
Sainsbury’s also announced similar cuts while Asda reduced diesel by up to 3p and unleaded petrol by 1p.
Oil prices have come under pressure amid market jitters about how long it will take to cut back a global glut in supply.
Brent crude slipped below $47 a barrel in early trading on Friday to reach new five-month lows, having fallen from above $50 the day before – though it later staged a recovery to climb above $49.
The fall came after BP and Royal Dutch Shell this week posted sharply improved profits following a recovery in the market in recent months.
Signs of the market weakening again threatens to puncture renewed optimism in the sector – which has been shedding thousands of jobs after the collapse in the price from levels of more than $100 in 2014.
Thursday’s fall in the price of Brent crude followed weak Chinese economic data – which might threaten demand from the fast-growing economy – and higher-than-expected US inventories, or stock piles of oil.
Markets had anticipated a faster decline in the glut of supply which had built up.
The weakness in the oil price worsened on reports that oil nations had appeared to rule out deeper cuts to production but comments on Friday from Saudi Arabia’s OPEC chief about the continuing need to "rebalance" the market later stabilised it.
Oil slumped to less than $30 a barrel earlier in 2016 but an agreement by the OPEC cartel and other countries had helped boost its recovery from those lows.
(c) Sky News 2017: Motorists see fuel prices cut after oil dips below $50
