CNMC president confirms vast majority apply bonus correctly, but oil price has skyrocketed
The Spaniards are paying more than ever to fill the car’s tank. In concrete terms, an average of 2.13 euros per liter of petrol and 2.10 euros was paid on Friday, record levels that, despite the government’s bonus of 20 cents per liter, mean a heavy blow to the wallets of millions of drivers. But the chairman of the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC), Cani Fernández, assured this Friday that the discount is working and that the gas stations are not absorbing that aid. He explained that “abnormal situations” have been identified in less than 1% of suppliers.
He explained that Competition follows the evolution of gas station margins “very closely”, for which he was able to ensure that an “absorption effect” of this discount was not detected, “rather the opposite”. “Margins have been tight and have decreased significantly at many gas stations,” Fernández said during his speech at the Association of Economic Information Journalists (APIE) summer courses.
All this after monitoring all gas stations, some 12,620 across the country, with “a high-frequency indicator” for pricing that takes into account, among other things, prices on international markets or the prices recorded in recent days, and compares them with that of the last year. “We have detected abnormal situations that do not reach a hundred of the 12,220 gas stations,” he explained.
So, given the information on how the operators have increased their margins, Fernández acknowledged an increase in gross margin, but that is due to “a very significant increase in costs they are dealing with” due to environmental obligations. He also wanted to point out that the comparison between European countries is “wrong” because Spain reports the price in monoliths (production costs) and other countries in final consumer price.
On the other hand, Fernández confirmed that the CNMC is about to resolve the sanction file filed against Sabadell, Banco Santander, CaixaBank and Bankia over possible anticompetitive practices in the marketing of credits guaranteed by the Official Credit Institute (ICO). The competition is investigating the link with several products that the banks would have demanded as a condition for customers to access the guarantee lines approved by the government in 2020 to facilitate access to credit and liquidity for companies and the self-employed to the economic impact of the pandemic. In addition, it analyzes the use of credit as a mechanism to restructure existing financial debt.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
