Rising petrol prices: does the oil and fuel market lack transparency?

Do rising petrol prices signal a lack of competition in the oil and fuel markets? What impact can the establishment of a "market transparency unit" at the German Federal Cartel Office have? For Justus Haucap, University of Dusseldorf and Chairman of the Monopoly Commission, price setting rules for petrol stations should only be considered as a last resort, and after a very detailed analysis of experiences abroad. Such price setting rules are a major intervention into competition and limit the use of price as the most important parameter of competition. An effective short-term reduction in consumer prices could only be achieved by lowering taxes. However, in view of the consolidation required in state budgets, this would seem ill-advised. For Willi Diez, Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Umwelt, Nürtingen, price practices in the fuel market also ultimately boil down to the simple interaction of supply and demand. The usual time-related price differentiation, or the orientation of prices according to demand that fluctuates over time, have brought the fuel market to a standstill and changed the rules of pricing practices. The problem of rising fuel prices can ultimately only be resolved by limiting fuel consumption. Hans-Joachim Otto, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology , presents the federal government's plans to set up a market transparency unit for the wholesaling of electricity and gas that will also be responsible for monitoring the fuel markets (petrol and diesel). Heinz-J. Bontrup, Westfälische Hochschule, Gelsenkirchen, Bocholt, Recklinghausen, sees the oligopoly position of the oil states and companies as the reason for the price increases. That is why, in his opinion, a "market transparency unit" at the Federal Cartel Office stands little chance of success. Only a drastic reduction in the consumption levels of petrol and diesel would be of any use.