MEZIESBLOG

In the early days of the Iran war, amid spiked oil prices, there were worries and a lot of political announcements about possible “price gouging” – when retailers raise prices to profit from soaring costs.

Consumers and politicians alike were clearly worried that forecourt operators would take the opportunity to increase their prices on petrol and diesel they’d already bought in.

The regulator was called in to examine the issue but today the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that fuel margins were broadly unchanged between February and March, and were similar to the average throughout 2025.

There were, however, some instances of individual retailer margins having increased, which the watchdog is looking at.

But this lack of pre-war to wartime margin increases doesn’t mean there’s no concern. 

Margins are still higher than they were historically, which the CMA says reflects concern about a lack of competition in the fuel market.

One helpful, but perhaps intuitive, CMA finding was the price discrepancy between petrol stations. 

It spotted “significant” local price variations, noting there are savings of up to £9 to be made on a tank of petrol or diesel if drivers shop around.