Deadlines have been published for the market study into the road fuel market currently being carried out by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The study was triggered after a CMA investigation into the road fuel market cleared retailers of profiteering but found “cause for concern in the growing gap between the price of crude oil when it enters refineries, and the wholesale price when it leaves refineries as petrol or diesel”.
Market studies allow the CMA to use compulsory information-gathering powers to probe entire markets and can result in recommendations to government or a full market investigation reference.
The new administrative timetable from the CMA stipulates that an initial update report will be published on December 6. It adds that January 7, 2023, will be the deadline for publishing notice on whether it will carry out a market investigation, and it will publish its market study report by July 7.
The initial urgent review of the road fuel market was requested by then business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng in June after a surge in prices.
He claimed in May that retailers had failed to pass on the 5ppl cut in duty in the March Budget, but in October the CMA reported there was no evidence to back the claim
In its response to the CMA report the government accepted: “There is no evidence, nor is it clear from analysis that retailers in aggregate have profited from failing to pass on the 5p fuel duty cut.”
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