Soaring fuel prices blamed on tripling of oil refinery profit margins

Competition watchdog opens probe into fuel as drivers hit by record prices

Motorists were hit by a record monthly hike in petrol prices in June (PA Archive)

Soaring fuel prices have been caused partly by a tripling of the profit margin that refineries collect when they process crude oil into petrol and diesel, an investigation has found.

The competition watchdog said it had opened an in-depth probe into the fuel market after its initial review found "cause for concern".

Motorists have been hit with record prices at the pumps this year after the war in Ukraine caused disruption to oil supplies. While oil prices have begun to fall this week in response to growing fears of a global recession, prices on petrol station forecourts have remained high.