Fuel prices are to be investigated by Britain’s competition watchdog as pump prices hit a new high despite Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s 5p per liter tax cut .
The average cost of a liter of petrol on forecourts soared to 185p on Sunday, according to the AA – a 7.1p rise in just one week.
The RAC described the “speed and scale” of the increases as “breathtaking”.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on Monday that it would carry out a “short and targeted review” of Kwasi Kwarteng’s on-demand prices.
The business secretary said Britons are ‘rightly frustrated’ that the March tax cut ‘does not always appear to have been passed on to forecourt prices’.
Andrea Coscelli, Chief Executive of the CMA, responded: “High on-road fuel prices are causing serious concern among the millions of consumers and businesses who expect to be able to afford to fill up their vehicles.
“As you note, global factors, including the war in Ukraine, have been the main driver of recent trends.
“But if competition doesn’t work well in the retail fuel market, prices at the pump will be even higher than they should be.
“With this in mind, the CMA will, at your request, carry out a brief and focused review of the market and provide advice to the government on steps that could be taken to improve outcomes for UK consumers.”
He added that the CMA will consider “what additional work might be needed” once the review is complete.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: ‘We hope the government’s persistent rhetoric about the importance of retailers passing on the March 5p duty cut in full is a precursor to the announcement of a bigger reduction this week.
“If so, that’s very welcome, albeit late as the 5p cut has been well and truly overtaken by events in the wholesale market since then.”
AA fuel price spokesman Luke Bosdet said the rise in petrol prices “should stop” by the end of the week due to wholesale prices falling since the start of the month.
He continued: “If they continue to rise significantly thereafter, we will be intrigued to hear what excuses the fuel trade has this time.”
Mr Bosdet added that the “relentless push” in diesel wholesale and retail costs is “a nightmare” that will have a ripple effect on the delivery prices of goods and services.
It comes after research found high streets in Britain were losing £23million a day in potential consumer spending to save petrol prices.
The AA said the money was going into fuel tanks rather than being spent on shops or bars and restaurants.
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Source: www.independent.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-06-13 13:41:47
