Pump prices have risen sharply in the wake of the US-Iran war. As we reveal, petrol prices are up 4.8% and diesel 9.8% on average since the war began, to 139.2ppl and 156.1ppl respectively. It’s the so-called ‘rocket and feather’ effect in play.
Not surprisingly, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is alarmed. The increase in fuel prices will have an immediate impact on consumer spending power. So she “will not tolerate price gouging”, and promised to meet with petrol retailers this week “to raise concerns and get prices down at the pumps”. She’s also asked the Competition & Markets Authority to investigate.
But the Chancellor needs to trust the Fuel Finder scheme to do its job, rather than micromanaging prices down at individual forecourts. With the information publicly available, using the apps that have been built, motorists should now have full visibility on local fuel prices, rather than having to rely on patchy crowdsourced data from motorists. And our use of the Fuel Finder data has also clearly highlighted that some forecourt chains are a lot more expensive than others – proprietary information that was previously a closely guarded industry secret – which will surely shame chains as well as individual forecourts into taking action.
Of course, the oil majors point out they don’t control prices in the branded but independent forecourts they supply. But the high prices and huge variances make for uncomfortable reading. The CMA says “firms responsible for thousands of fuel stations have been put on notice that formal requirements to supply revenue, costs and sales data will be brought forward”. So at the very least it looks like the US-Iran war will trigger an acceleration in the crackdown on (and fines for) non-compliant and unregistered forecourts. But it also makes you wonder if a supermarket might introduce national pricing on fuel. That would set the cat among the pigeons.
It’s not hard for motorists to grasp why fuel prices go up, whether it’s increased costs in general or the US-Iran war. But huge price variances at the same supermarket sometimes in the same town? That doesn’t add up.
Pump prices have risen sharply in the wake of the US-Iran war. As we reveal, petrol prices are up 4.8% and diesel 9.8% on average since the war began, to 139.2ppl and 156.1ppl respectively. It’s the so-called ‘rocket and feather’ effect in play.
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