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CMA response to economic impacts of the conflict in the Middle East
How the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is responding to the economic impacts of the conflict in the Middle East.
The CMA is taking action in response to competition and consumer protection issues in the UK arising from the conflict in the Middle East. This page will be updated with links to announcements about this work.
The CMA has written to the Chancellor to set out its action to monitor pricing pressures, protect consumers and ensure competition is working effectively.
Heating oil
An initial review of complaints across heating oil has identified 2 main issues, which the CMA will be reviewing further:
- existing orders for heating oil being cancelled, and customers then being offered new quotes at significantly increased prices
- price increases for automated deliveries (triggered when the fuel in a tank drops to a certain level)
Road fuel
The CMA has set out plans to step up monitoring of petrol and diesel prices.
Updates to this page
Published 18 March 2026