London, March 12, 2026 — The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced plans to intensify its monitoring of petrol and diesel prices, warning fuel retailers that it will accelerate data collection to examine profit margins following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East.
Companies operating thousands of fuel stations across the country have been notified that the CMA will bring forward formal information requests for revenue, cost and sales data, enabling the regulator to speed up its analysis of fuel margins during the recent period of price volatility.
The CMA said the review will examine how fuel prices at the pump respond to changes in wholesale costs, including whether there is evidence of “rocket and feather” pricing, where retail prices rise quickly when costs increase but fall more slowly when costs decline.
Juliette Enser, the CMA’s Executive Director for Markets, said while higher wholesale energy costs may inevitably lead to price increases, retailers must ensure that those increases reflect genuine cost pressures.
“We will be closely scrutinising and reporting on what’s happening with fuel prices and call out any concerning behaviour,” Enser said.
The regulator emphasized that it does not set or approve fuel prices, but monitors the road fuel market to assess competition and identify potential issues affecting consumers.
To conduct its profitability analysis, the CMA will rely on information gathered through formal data requests, as detailed financial information from fuel retailers is not publicly available. The authority will analyze both retail spreads—the difference between pump prices and benchmark wholesale prices—and fuel margins, which measure the gap between the price retailers pay for fuel and the price they charge drivers.
While retail spread analysis can provide a quick overview of market trends, the CMA said that examining individual retailers’ fuel margins offers a more accurate picture of competitive conditions in the sector.
The authority plans to publish an update on fuel pricing trends as soon as possible once the relevant data has been collected and analyzed.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-steps-up-monitoring-of-petrol-and-diesel-prices
