SUPERMARKET giant Morrisons today launched another salvo in the fuel price war by cutting the cost of petrol and diesel again at its forecourts across the country.

Paul Geater

SUPERMARKET giant Morrisons today launched another salvo in the fuel price war by cutting the cost of petrol and diesel again at its forecourts across the country.

Petrol was on sale today at its forecourts - including those at Ipswich and Felixstowe - at 97.9p a litres, while diesel was on sale for 109.9p a litre.

Other supermarkets and filling stations across the country are expected to follow suit very quickly - over the weekend many stations in the area slashed their prices and petrol at more than £1 a litre was the exception rather than the rule.

Today's news comes on the day after Gordon Brown called on energy firms to slash fuel bills as gas and oil costs fall.

With winter approaching, the Prime Minister urged suppliers to pass on their savings from declining wholesale prices to hard-pressed consumers.

Last week, he insisted that falling oil prices should be reflected at the petrol pumps.

Mr Brown said yesterday: "Now that global oil and gas prices are falling, we will demand that energy companies pass on these cuts to their customers as price reductions as soon as possible.'

Pressure has been building on garages and energy suppliers to cut prices as the cost of oil has fallen to less than half its 147 dollar-a-barrel high in July.

This has helped wholesale gas prices to slump by about 20per cent from its record levels in the summer - although the cost of a barrel of crude oil has more than halved.

Today's move came five days after Morrisons announced an earlier cut in the price of fuel.

Marc Bolland, Morrisons Chief Executive, said: "We're leading the market again with prices under 98p a litre. That's great news for anyone buying their petrol from Morrisons from this morning.

"Yet again, this shows our commitment to giving great value to all our customers - whether they're doing their weekly shop at Morrisons or filling up their cars at our forecourts."