Rising petrol and diesel costs not down to lack of competition, say OFT
RISING fuel costs have not been caused by a lack of competition, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found.
Prices at the pumps for diesel and petrol have largely been the result of higher crude oil prices and increases in tax and duty, a report said.
The evidence gathered by the OFT suggested that at national level competition is working well in the UK road fuel sector, although it has identified an absence of pricing information on motorways as a concern and does not rule out taking action in some local markets if there is "persuasive evidence of anti-competitive behaviour".
The OFT launched a call for information on the UK road fuel sector in September last year to determine whether there were competition problems to be addressed. In addition to assessing the information, the OFT undertook detailed analysis of pricing data to investigate claims the £47billion market was not working well.
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Clive Maxwell, OFT chief executive, said: "We recognise that there has been widespread mistrust in how this market is operating. However, our analysis suggests that competition is working well, and rises in pump prices over the past decade or so have largely been down to increases in tax and the cost of crude oil."
3 Comments
by blueeyes2112
Wednesday, February 13 2013, 9:29PM
“And yet again, over the past two weeks, prices have risen about 5p a litre since this report. That's just in two weeks, where does it stop!!!!!!!!!”
by siarad2
Friday, February 01 2013, 3:45PM
“So why is it generally more expensive than in the rest of the EU, particularly Diesel”
by Julesbreadbox
Thursday, January 31 2013, 5:10PM
“Of course, it's not down to lack of competition, but solely down to manipulation and speculation and the businesses of the usual suspects.”