The petrol price freeze? Treasury demands fuel cost guarantees

Treasury Chief Secretary: Consumers felt petrol prices rise ‘like a rocket’ when oil costs went up, but fall ‘like a feather’ when they came d

17:43 06 November 2014

Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander wants a guarantee from fuel companies and distributors to pass on price cuts to hard-pressed motorists.

The comment was made following supermarket giant Asda’s announcement that it would cut the price of petrol and diesel by 1p. Rival retailers Sainsburys and Tesco quickly followed suit.

However, Mr Alexander isn’t pleased with the sales tactics. He said consumers felt petrol prices rise "like a rocket" when oil costs went up, but fall "like a feather" when they came down. He added that the people have the right to feel angry if the prices were not coming down as much as they should.

He said: "Especially in the current economic circumstances people would rightly be angry if they feel that pump prices don't fall as much as they should on the back of falling oil prices."

"When the price of oil falls, the public have a right to expect pump prices to fall like a stone, not a feather."

Meanwhile, RAC Foundation director Professor Stephen Glaister said: "It is encouraging that Mr Alexander shares the concerns of the nation's drivers but in a way he is passing the buck.

"The biggest driver of pump prices remains the Government. Well over 60% of the price is tax."