UK supermarkets have started a fuel price war as a release of fuel stockpiles slash oil prices.

Brent crude fell by over $8 a barrel on Thursday after the IEA (International Energy Agency) confirmed to be releasing a stockpile of 60 million barrels of oil over the next 30 days. This action by the IEA has been prompted by the ongoing conflict in Libya.

The decision marks only the 3rd time the IEA have released stockpiles in it’s  37-year history and will help to increase global oil supply by 2.5% for the duration.

Supermarkets marked the oil price drop by dropping up to 3p a litre off forecourt prices, meaning on average UK motorists will be saving £1.80 on the average 60 litre fill up. The flurry of price drops has been headed by Asda that slashed a further 2p off a litre last Monday.

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