UK Competition Watchdog Finds No Evidence of Fuel Price Gouging After Iran War
CMA says profit margins broadly unchanged between February and March, though some retailers saw increases
Quick Look
- The Competition and Markets Authority has found no evidence of widespread price-gouging by UK fuel retailers in the weeks after the US-Israel war with Iran began.
- The CMA said profit margins were broadly unchanged between February and March, though it identified margin increases for two supermarkets and three non-supermarket retailers.
- Chief executive Sarah Cardell said the watchdog is investigating why and will report further in May.
AI-generated summary
There is no evidence of widespread price-gouging by UK fuel retailers in the weeks after the US-Israel war with Iran began, according to the competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said profit margins overall were "broadly unchanged" between February and March. In March, the CMA announced it would "step up" monitoring of petrol and diesel prices after the Middle East conflict caused wholesale prices to spike. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at the time said the government was primed to act if fuel companies tried to "rip off customers", but forecourt retailers denied price gouging was taking place and criticised the use of "inflammatory language". The CMA said its findings indicated "there has not been a widespread issue of retailers earning higher margins" since the war began. But it found that fuel margins increased between February and March for two supermarkets and three non-supermarket retailers. Sarah Cardell, CMA chief executive, said: "We are investigating why and will report further in May."
