Petrol prices: Kwasi Kwarteng orders inquiry into cost of filling up

theguardian.com:

The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has asked the UK’s competition watchdog to urgently review petrol station operators, amid concerns that retailers have not passed on the recent cut to fuel duty.

In a letter to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Kwarteng wrote that people were “rightly frustrated” that the 5p-a-litre reduction had not stopped prices from soaring to record levels at forecourts.

Kwarteng asked the CMA to conduct an urgent review of the fuel market, and a longer-term study that would examine the health of competition in the market, to examine whether it has hurt consumer interests amid rising prices.

He noted regional disparities in petrol prices, and asked for an initial report of recommendations to “strengthen competition” in the petrol market by 7 July.

“Drivers should be getting a fair deal for fuel across the UK,” Kwarteng wrote.

“I am writing to you to ask that the CMA conduct an urgent review of the fuel market … to explore whether the retail fuel market has adversely affected consumer interests.”

The competition watchdog had previously made Asda and Morrisons sell a number of forecourts during private equity acquisitions.

The average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts rose by 7p last week, according to data firm Experian Catalist, hitting a new record of 183.2p on Thursday. That pushed the cost of filling a typical car over the £100 mark.

Petrol retailers have blamed surging wholesale