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Coronavirus Kent: Cheap petrol and diesel prices as Covid-19 sees fuel value plummet

By: Joe Wright jwright@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 15:12, 06 April 2020

Updated: 15:14, 06 April 2020

Fuel prices in Kent have tumbled to almost £1 per litre for the first time in years.

Drivers can fill their cars up with a full tank for about £7 less than they did a month ago... but which firms are offering the cheapest option?

The petrol price at Morrisons in Gravesend was just £1.02 per litre last Thursday. All pictures: Barry Goodwin

Due to lockdown rules, it's a postcode lottery for drivers as they have to use the forecourt nearest to them.

This means those living near to a Morrisons supermarket are in luck, with the petrol prices at the Gravesend station standing at just £1.02 per litre.

Sainsbury's is also offering £1.02 prices, while Tesco in Cheriton near Folkestone had the figure set at £1.06 last week.

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Fuel from Asda - £1.02 in Gravesend - is also similarly low with supermarkets setting cheap prices across the board.

North Kent towns seem to be the best areas to fill up, with prices in Ashford and Folkestone being about 3p dearer than in Gravesend in Dartford.

Petrol at Tesco in Cheriton was £1.06 per litre last week

Pictures taken on Thursday show how oil companies such as Esso, BP and Shell have not lowered their prices to the extent of supermarkets.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: "February was a pretty extraordinary month for fuel price reductions, but nothing prepared anyone for what would happen in March as the impact of the coronavirus began to be felt.

"An already-oversupplied oil market was suddenly faced with an enormous shortage in demand as worldwide travel ground to a halt.

"Wholesale fuel prices have slid so far that there remains scope for further price cuts, but we are very mindful at this time of the pressure this can place on smaller, independent forecourts that provide a vital service in areas where there is no supermarket footprint.

"While we all want reasonably priced fuel for our essential journeys, surely none of us want to see smaller enterprises going out of business trying to match the supermarkets’ big price cuts at a time when so few of us are driving compared to normal."

Prices at Esso in Stowting are higher than those at supermarkets

Have you found fuel for less than £1.02 per litre in Kent? Email news@thekmgroup.co.uk

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