BP-backed UK energy supplier Pure Planet cuts prices 2.4 percent

LONDON (Reuters) - British energy supplier Pure Planet, in which oil giant BP has a 25 percent stake, has cut its average annual dual gas and electricity price by 2.4 percent, it said on Wednesday.

The cut is the company's second price drop this year and comes after all of the country's 'big six' suppliers raised their average prices around 10 percent in April in line with an increase in the energy regulator's price cap.

Pure Planet said it would cut its gas price by 6 percent from May 8, which translates to a 2.4 percent fall, or 24 pounds saving on an average dual fuel bill to 962 pounds a year.

The company said unseasonably warm temperatures over February and May had seen gas demand and wholesale gas prices fall in Britain, allowing it to lower prices.

Pure Planet has around 100,000 customers and is one of some 50 brands challenging the big six energy firms for market share.

(Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Mark Potter)