Fuel Prices: Cost At Pump 'Is Fair'

The UK road fuel sector is "working well" according to a report into the the UK's £47bn market by the Office of Fair Trading.

The regulator said high prices at the pumps were because of increasing crude oil prices and taxes - not a lack of competition.

In the 10 years between 2003 and 2012, petrol prices increased from 76p per litre (ppl) to 136ppl, and diesel rose from 78ppl to 142ppl.

But the OFT stressed that over this period, taxes and duties rose by 24ppl and crude oil went up 33ppl.

It said has not identified any evidence of anti-competitive behaviour at a national level - where competition was strong - but admitted there could be some issues at a local level. 

The regulator also found "very limited evidence" that oil and gas companies are not passing on lower crude oil prices to retailers and motorists as quickly as they could.

It comes amid concerns that pump prices rise quickly when the wholesale price of crude oil goes up but fall more slowly when it drops.

The chief executive of the OFT, Clive Maxwell, 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."

The report did find that fuel is often significantly more expensive at motorway service stations - in August, prices were on average 7.5ppl more for petrol and 8.3ppl higher for diesel.

The OFT expressed concern that drivers could not view prices before pulling into a service station, and said the Department for Transport should consider introducing new road signs displaying prices.

Oil analyst Malcolm Graham-Wood from VSA Capital welcomed the OFT's findings.

"This totally concurs with our own view that there is no collaboration and that retail petrol prices in the UK fairly reflect the price of crude oil ... for better or worse," he said.

"Groups ... seem to think that just because petrol prices vary from different areas that this is due to collaboration and  price fixing which is patently not the case."

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