Britain orders review of fuel market as pump prices surge

• The study will look into why fuel prices climb quickly but fall slowly.
• In March, Britain cut fuel duty by 5 pence per litre for a year as part of a 5 billion pound ($6.2 billion) package
• help motorists cope with cost-of-living squeeze.

The government has ordered Britain’s competition watchdog to examine the retail fuel sector to see if a duty reduction has been passed on to consumers as gas prices reach record highs.

On Sunday, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the study would look into why fuel prices climb quickly but fall slowly.

Oil prices have risen around the world as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and economies restarting following the pandemic.

In March, Britain cut fuel duty by 5 pence per litre for a year as part of a 5 billion pound ($6.2 billion) package to help motorists cope with a deepening cost-of-living squeeze.

However, according to data firm Experian Catalist, prices have continued to grow, with the average cost of filling a family car surpassing £100 for the first time last week.

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“The British people are rightly angry that the £5 billion package does not always appear to have been passed through to forecourt pricing and that prices in some areas remain higher than in similar, neighbouring towns,” Kwarteng wrote to the Competition and Markets Authority in a letter (CMA).

According to him, the study should look at the state of competition in the market, geographical considerations, such as localised competition, and any additional steps the government or the CMA could take to improve competition.

He asked for a preliminary assessment.

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