The government has ordered an “urgent” review by the competition regulator into the fuel market after pump prices hit new record highs.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said in a letter to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that there was “widespread concern” about the pace of price rises and public frustration that a cut in fuel duty announced earlier this year does not always appear to have been passed on.
Mr Kwarteng has asked for an initial report to be delivered by 7 July as well as a longer-term study by the watchdog into how to strengthen competition in the market and increase transparency for consumers over prices.
The intervention comes after the average price of filling a typical car with petrol topped £100 last week, adding to the cost of living squeeze for households already facing soaring energy bills as well as rising food expenses.
Fuel prices soared after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia – a major oil producer – pushed the price of Brent crude to more than $130 a barrel.
The oil price has since slipped back slightly but among the concerns expressed by Mr Kwarteng in his letter to the CMA is that prices at forecourts “may not fall as much or as fast as they rise”.
In March, Chancellor Rishi Sunak cut fuel duty by 5p per litre to try to offset the impact and last month the business secretary wrote to petrol retailers to “remind them of their responsibilities” to pass this on to motorists.
Mr Kwarteng said then that the CMA was “closely monitoring the situation”.
Meanwhile motorists’ groups have been urging the government to cut fuel duty further or enact a temporary cut in VAT on fuel.
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Source : skynews
