Until the end of the year
A stroke of luck for the French (or anyone driving through France). Some supermarket chains there will be selling fuel at cost price for the rest of this year.
Fuel prices are still relatively high, while life has become considerably more expensive on many other fronts. This is also noticeable in France, where companies are particularly actively called upon to assist citizens. With success, because TotalEnergies previously imposed a price ceiling for fuel and in October 2021, supermarket chain E.Leclerc decided to offer fuel at cost price. The latter is now happening again and on a larger scale.
According to Reuters E.Leclerc and Carrefour, among others, are responding to a call from the French government to sell fuel at cost price. This should provide financial support to the citizens. E.Leclerc and Carrefour would adjust prices downwards on Friday and then apply the cost price every day of the week. At Carrefour the benefit applies every day until the end of the year and at Casino it would apply two weekends a month until the end of the year. Système U, another supermarket chain, would use the cost price for ‘a few weekends’.
It seems to be a bit of a case of ‘every little bit helps’. The CEO of Système U states that the average margin on a liter of fuel is about two cents. When E.Leclerc started working with cost prices in 2021, the CEO of that chain also said that it would not make any difference. According to him, it also showed how little of the fuel price actually constitutes a margin for the operator and that a greater advantage should be sought in reducing excise duties.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl