CMA Archives - Ireland's Forecourt & Convenience Retailer

Christmas at the pumps set to be cheapest since the pandemic, says RAC

Julie Nash — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 14:13:57 +0000

Petrol rises by a penny in November but still 10.5p cheaper than a year ago

Diesel up by almost 2p but a whopping 12p less than same time last year

Despite a slight rise at the pumps in November, drivers are on track to enjoy the cheapest Christmas at the pumps since the pandemic, according to new data from RAC Fuel Watch*.

Petrol went up by a penny to 136.5p over the month while diesel rose by nearly 2p (1.8p) to 142.25p, taking the cost of full tanks for 55-litre family cars to £75 for petrol and £78 for diesel.

But even though petrol has gone up almost 2p (1.7p) since the start of October, the price of unleaded is still 10.5p lower than the same time last year, saving drivers nearly £6 (£5.75) a tank. Diesel, which is up by 3p (2.8p) over the same period, is 12p cheaper than last year which translates to a saving of £6.60 for a complete fill-up. Compared to two years ago – nine months after the price of oil rocketed due to Russia invading Ukraine – the savings are even greater as petrol then averaged 159.9p (23.4p or £12.90 less) and diesel 183.9p (41.7p or £22.90 less).

At the end of November 2024, a litre of petrol bought at one of the big four supermarkets cost 133.2p – 3.3p cheaper than the UK average, while diesel was 138.6p – 3.6p less than the average price paid on UK forecourts.

Around the nations, prices at the end of the month were cheapest in Northern Ireland with petrol averaging 130.6p and diesel 135.2p – 6p and 7p less than the UK average. England was the most expensive with petrol at an average of 136p and diesel at 141.7p. Scotland and Wales were 134.5p and 134.9p for petrol and 140.6p and 140.2p for diesel.

While pump prices have risen a little in November, the cost of oil has remained broadly stable averaging $73 a barrel, which together with the pound still trading around the $1.28 mark, means there’s been little change in wholesale prices. However, retailer margins remain relatively high, a point reinforced by the Competition and Markets Authority last week in its interim monitoring report which stated that it was still concerned about a lack of competition and elevated margins compared to historic levels.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “Heading up to the most expensive time of year for families, it’s good to see that this Christmas is set to be the cheapest for fuel since the pandemic.

“Despite both petrol and diesel rising by a penny and two pence respectively in November, the difference to a year ago is considerable with petrol 10.5p lower and diesel 12p less. This is great news for people making long festive journeys to visit friends and families as it should save them around £6 on a tank of fuel compared to last year.

“While conditions are clearly better for drivers this Christmas than previous ones, we’re still conscious that prices at the pumps could be slightly cheaper if retailer margins were lower. So, it was disappointing to see last week that the Competition and Markets Authority has once again expressed concern about a lack of competition among fuel retailers. This comes on the back of the CMA concluding drivers were overcharged by £1.6bn in 2023.

“We hope the Government’s commitment at the Budget to introducing a mandatory fuel price finding scheme next year will spark competition and lead to a fairer fuel retailing landscape that delivers better value for drivers wherever they fill up.”

Ahead of all retailers being forced to share prices with the Government within 30 minutes of a price change, drivers can use the fuel finder feature in the free myRAC app which can help save money every time they fill up. The app, which can be downloaded for free from the App Store or Google Play, allows users to search over a two, five or 10-mile radius, with each search giving the five cheapest prices.

The online RAC Fuel Watch resource has more information about the average price of petrol and diesel at the big four supermarkets and at motorway services. It also features graphs showing average prices since 2000 as well as a daily financial breakdown of the cost of a litre of petrol and diesel.

Petrol rises by a penny in November but still 10.5p cheaper than a year ago

Diesel up by almost 2p but a whopping 12p less than same time last year

Despite a slight rise at the pumps in November, drivers are on track to enjoy the cheapest Christmas at the pumps since the pandemic, according to new data from RAC Fuel Watch*.

Petrol went up by a penny to 136.5p over the month while diesel rose by nearly 2p (1.8p) to 142.25p, taking the cost of full tanks for 55-litre family cars to £75 for petrol and £78 for diesel.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “Heading up to the most expensive time of year for families, it’s good to see that this Christmas is set to be the cheapest for fuel since the pandemic.

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Cross border competition impacting fuel prices in the north, says CMA

Julie Nash — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 16:12:28 +0000

Petrol and diesel in Northern Ireland is cheaper than in other parts of the UK because of competition from filling stations in the Republic of Ireland, a competition watchdog has suggested, the BBC has reported.

It follows an investigation by the K’s Competition & Markets Authority which has examined the operation of the UK’s road fuel market.

It found that competition isn’t working as well as it should be, driving up prices. The CMA has made recommendations to help people find the cheapest prices in their area.

The recommendations include a new “fuel finder” scheme – similar to a fuel price checker provided by the NI Consumer Council which enables consumers to compare the highest, lowest and average petrol and diesel prices in each town in Northern Ireland and is updated on a weekly basis. However, it does not indicate prices for individual filling stations.

As part of its investigation the CMA looked at the extent to which average prices vary by region, and compared them to London, which it used as a baseline.

On average, the cheapest region was Northern Ireland, where petrol was on average 2.8p per litre cheaper, and diesel 1.4p per litre cheaper than in London.

The CMA said: “The fact that we observe prices that are significantly lower in Northern Ireland is likely due to the fact that filling stations there are competing with filling stations across the Irish border, which are subject to a range of different competitive and fiscal dynamics.”

The CMA has recommended that the government uses legislation to create an open data fuel finder scheme.

This would require retailers to share their prices on an open, real-time basis, meaning that drivers can easily compare prices in any area of the UK.

The CMA says this would “increase incentives on retailers to compete hard on price and make it easier for consumers to identify where they are not doing so”.

It has also recommended a “fuel monitor function” within an appropriate public body, to monitor developments in the market, both nationally and locally.

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Investigation into supermarket fuel margins by CMA

Julie Nash — Wed, 17 May 2023 12:50:51 +0000

The UK’s Competition & Markets Authority is set to investigate supermarket fuel margins. The CMA will hold formal interviews with supermarket chiefs in the UK to assess if supermarket fuel price increases were not just due to global factors outside of their control.

The move comes after the CMA was dissatisfied with supermarket responses and engagement in respect of its Road Fuel Market Study.

The CMA says that while evidence showed that the majority of fuel price increases are due to global factors, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, indications are that higher pump prices cannot be attributed solely to factors outside the control of the retailers.

According to the CMA’s Road Fuel market study, the higher prices at the pumps appear partly to reflect some weakening of competition in the road fuel retail market.

In its update the CMA said: ““While the level of engagement with the study has varied across supermarkets, we are not satisfied that they have all been sufficiently forthcoming with the evidence they have provided.

“In particular, important information has only been received late in the day and after several rounds of information gathering. Given the concerns we have about a market of such importance to millions of drivers it is vital we get to the bottom of what is going on.

”While some degree of variation in diesel retail margin is to be expected given the high levels of volatility in diesel wholesale prices, the high margins in 2023 appear to have gone on longer than would be expected.”

The CMA added that it needs to be clear whether weaker competition is part of the explanation for this.

PRA executive director Gordon Balmer said: “The CMA have made supermarkets the focus of their update, noting only that non-supermarket retailers are traditionally price followers in the market.

“As noted by the CMA, petrol and diesel prices are still volatile due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. The market is very dynamic and independent forecourts are in many cases undercutting supermarkets on price. Our advice to motorists remains to shop around.

“We have cooperated with all of the CMA’s requests for information and will continue to do so as they prepare their final report to be released.”

The CMA is expected to complete its report by 7th July.

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Co-op sells petrol stations to Asda in £600m deal

Linda Stewart — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 08:28:46 +0000

The Co-op has agreed to sell its 129-strong petrol forecourt business to Asda in a deal worth £600m.

The Co-op said the sale of the sites, which represent 5% of its retail estate, would enable it to expand its network of grocery stores and also help it balance the books.

Asda said the purchase was part of plans to move into smaller, convenience grocery stores.

About 2,300 Co-op petrol station staff will be moved to Asda’s employment.

As part of the deal, Asda will pay £438m in cash and take on responsibility for Co-op’s lease payments which total about £162m.

The precise figure will be confirmed when the sale is completed later this year.

“This transaction is in line with our strategy to move away from operating petrol forecourts and supports our vision of ‘Co-operating for a fairer world’, while building our core leading convenience business,” said Shirine Khoury-Haq, chief executive at the Co-op.

Mohsin Issa, co-owner of Asda, said the supermarket saw convenience stores as a “significant growth opportunity for the business”.

“This acquisition accelerates our strategy in this area and forms part of our long-term ambition to become the UK’s second largest supermarket,” he said.

The deal for the Co-op’s 129 forecourts include the shops on the sites. Asda currently has 320 petrol stations across the UK.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said although Asda was expanding its petrol forecourt numbers, the supermarket would be “more focused on reaping rewards from added grocery sales, rather than fuel revenues”.

“Forecourt shops are not now seen simply as petrol stations but rather as convenience stores which sell fuel,” she added.

“Asda sees significant potential in adding a raft of new shops to its retail portfolio, especially given that industry data shows that there has been a 12% increase in average weekly spend at forecourts compared to a year ago.”

Co-op Group – which owns supermarket chains and funeral care operations – has offloaded a number of its divisions over the past decade, including its chain of pharmacies and travel shops.

Co-op announced last month it was cutting about 400 head office jobs in the face of tough trading conditions, made worse by inflation running at a 40-year high. In April the firm revealed its annual profits had halved.

Ms Khoury-Haq, who has recently been appointed Co-op’s chief executive, said the sale of petrol stations to Asda would help the company reduce its net debt and “improve our financial position, giving us more of a buffer to ride out the current economic waves”.

“If we have learned anything over the past couple of years, it is that we cannot predict much in terms of what is coming next,” she said.

“We are incredibly optimistic about the future of the business, but we do need to look prudently at the external environment.

Asda was bought by EG Group founders, the Issa brothers, in February 2021. The two entrepreneurs from Blackburn made their billion-pound fortunes running petrol stations.

When Britain’s third-largest supermarket chain was taken over by the Issa Brothers and TDR Capital last year, it agreed to sell 27 of its forecourts in order to secure the acquisition after the Competitions and Market Authority (CMA) raised concerns.

Asda confirmed it was ready to co-operate with the regulator should it choose to investigate the deal.

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Fuel prices inexplicably continue to rise: RAC

Linda Stewart — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 10:10:54 +0000

Fuel prices are inexplicably continuing to rise despite showing signs of peaking earlier this week, the RAC says.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “Inexplicably, fuel prices rose yet again yesterday with petrol hitting a new all-time high of 191.24p per litre and diesel just short of another record at 199.01p.

“We can see absolutely no rhyme or reason why average forecourt prices are still going up, given that the wholesale price of both fuels has been falling for weeks.

“Drivers up and down the country have a right to know why they’re having to pay what they are for fuel when the costs to retailers right now are so much less they were a few weeks ago. Next Thursday’s announcement by the CMA following its review will no doubt be watched very closely.

“Suggestions that the Government might be about to announce more support for hard-pressed drivers are welcome. A cut to the price of forecourt fuel really can’t come soon enough.

“If it’s a further fuel duty cut that the Chancellor decides on, it’s absolutely vital that this is passed on in full immediately by retailers to give drivers some respite from these historic high prices. It’s also vital the Government monitors the wholesale market and closely scrutinises retailer margins.”

On Monday the RAC had expressed hopes that pump prices had peaked for the time being as petrol crept only very slightly higher than the day before at a new record average price of 191.1p.

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