Asda has intensified its position in the war on petrol prices, by being the first retailer this year to drop the price of a litre to under £1.

The price drop, to 99.9p for a litre of unleaded petrol, means customers will be paying on average£10 less per tank than they did in July. Diesel has dropped to 110.9p.

Asda trading director Darren Blackhurst said: “We are committed to delivering the best value to customers across the board and we review our prices daily to achieve this.”

He added: “Drivers should not be paying more than 99.9p a litre for unleaded fuel based on current oil prices. Past experience tells us that unless they live near an Asda they still will be.”

Asda has in the last three months cut diesel prices by 20p and petrol by more than 18p.

A competitive stance on petrol prices has been a major driver of the strong like for like performance of supermarkets in recent months.