The review, which was requested by business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng last month, found that while crude oil prices have been rising over the last year, there has been a “growing gap” between that price and the wholesale price of petrol and diesel.
The ‘refining spread’, or the margin charged by refineries on each litre of fuel, was found to have tripled in the last year, from 10p to nearly 35p per litre.
Over the same period, the so-called ‘retailer spread’, or the difference between the wholesale price and the price charged to motorists, fluctuated but remained about 10p per litre on average.
On the whole, the 5p fuel duty cut appears to have been implemented, with the largest fuel retailers doing so immediately and others more gradually.
Significant differences in fuel prices were also found between many rural and urban areas.
The CMA launched a market study today that will examine the road fuel market in more depth through the use of its compulsory...