Competition Watchdog Reports on Fuel Prices Post Middle East Conflict
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has reported that there is no evidence of widespread price-gouging by UK fuel retailers in the weeks following the outbreak of the US-Israel war with Iran. The watchdog's analysis indicates that overall profit margins remained "broadly unchanged" between February and March.
In March, the CMA announced it would intensify its monitoring of petrol and diesel prices after wholesale prices surged due to the conflict in the Middle East. At that time, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stated that the government was prepared to intervene if fuel companies attempted to "rip off customers." However, forecourt retailers denied any price gouging and criticized the use of "inflammatory language."
The CMA's findings suggest that "there has not been a widespread issue of retailers earning higher margins" since the war began. Nevertheless, the watchdog identified that fuel margins increased between February and March for two supermarket chains and three non-supermarket retailers.
"We are investigating why and will report further in May,"said Sarah Cardell, CMA chief executive.
The regulator also highlighted that its findings exist within a context of "historically high" fuel margins for retailers.
