INDEPENDENT petrol retailers are set to follow the lead of their supermarket rivals by cutting prices.

Tesco and Morrisons have cut their forecourt prices by 2p a litre, while Sainsbury’s and Asda have pledged to follow suit. The price war comes after crude prices fell below $100 a barrel for the first time in more than a month.

Bernard Stern, of Paddock-based CJ Stern (Oils) Ltd, said: “We are waiting to see what the other companies do before our oil supplier comes in with price support.” But he added: “Most of the independent retailers will fall into line within a week.”

Mr Stern said pump prices at his firm’s Paddock and Milnsbridge sites stood at 134.9 a litre for unleaded and 138.9 a litre for diesel, but added: “I fully expected that to drop by 2p a litre.”

Mr Stern said supermarkets had the luxury of being able to subsidise their petrol prices from profits made on other lines, but insisted: “There have been times when they have been more expensive than other petrol stations.” Paul Watters, spokesman for motoring organisation the AA, said the cost of petrol to consumers should come down further as a result of the fall in crude prices. He said: “The price of oil has dropped, but this has not properly filtered through to the customer yet. “Supermarkets will lead the pack with price cuts and smaller petrol stations will have to follow suit.”