No collusion in petrol pricing: Competition Commission of Singapore

CRUDE oil prices fell by an average of 59 cents in January 2014-January 2016 while effective pump prices dropped 45 cents, according to an interim study by the Competition Commission of Singapore.

"Based on the information gathered, there is no evidence to suggest collusion in petrol pricing, even though petrol companies monitor and react to each other's published prices," the commission said in a press release.

Petrol companies use wholesale petrol prices - not crude oil prices - in their cost accounting and pricing for retail petrol, it said. And the the listed pump price was seen to move in tandem with the wholesale petrol price between January 2010 and January this year.

"While the pass-through was neither complete nor immediate, the effect was the same whether the (wholesale price) increased or decreased," the press release said.

The lack of complete pass-through could be due to factors like changes in non-fuel components, it added. "There was no significant difference between the time taken to raise the listed price and the time taken to lower the price."