Competition watchdog puts fuel retailers ‘on notice’ of price monitoring

The competition watchdog has put fuel retailers “on notice” that it is stepping up monitoring of petrol and diesel prices in light of the Middle East conflict.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) told firms responsible for thousands of fuel stations across the country that it was bringing forward formal requirements to supply revenue, costs and sales data.

The watchdog said the move would speed up its review of fuel margins made by businesses since the conflict began.

The CMA said it will also consider how quickly fuel prices rise and fall as wholesale costs change and whether there is evidence of so-called “rocket and feather” pricing.

While it recognised that businesses across the economy were likely to face significant pressures from rising energy costs which could affect prices, it said fuel stations “should not exploit the situation”, adding that any evidence of this would be made clear in its update on pricing, “which will be published as soon as possible”.

The CMA’s executive director for markets, Juliette Enser, said: “Whilst price increases might be inevitable because of rising wholesale costs, it is important that those increases reflect genuine cost pressures.

“We will be closely scrutinising and reporting on what’s happening with fuel prices and call out any concerning behaviour.”

On Wednesday, the RAC said diesel prices had risen by nearly 9% since February 28.

Petrol prices were on average 6% more across the same period.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “Drivers tell us the cost of motoring is a major concern, and fuel is a huge contributor to that, so making sure they’re paying a fair price at the pumps is essential.

“For that reason, we welcome the competition watchdog’s scrutiny of what’s happening on forecourts across the country.

“RAC fuel watch data shows average prices have rocketed in under two weeks, with the average price of petrol increasing by 7p to 140p a litre and diesel by 16p to 158p. This has added £4 and £8 to the cost of filling up a family car.”