LONDON

UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves on Tuesday warned petrol retailers that the government “will not tolerate price gouging” after a sharp rise in global oil prices.

Reeves said she would meet petrol retailers later this week following large differences in petrol prices at forecourts across the country.

The chancellor made the comments in the House of Commons while answering questions alongside junior treasury ministers.

Addressing Monday's spike in the price of oil, which saw it rise by the highest amount in a single day in six years, Reeves said: “Stability is the most important thing we can do to get interest rates and inflation down and tackling the cost of living, especially given the global headwinds, is my top priority.”

She pointed to recent measures announced by the government to help households with rising costs.

“At the budget, we took money off energy bills and we froze prescription charges and train fares,” she said.

Reeves also highlighted the government’s cheaper Fuel Finder Scheme, which allows drivers to compare petrol prices at forecourts across the country.

“The government's cheaper Fuel Finder scheme is now online, and it shows petrol prices at forecourts across the country,” she said.

“Yesterday, some petrol retailers charged almost 180 pence (p) per litre, while others were charging less than 130p per litre. This government will not tolerate price gouging, and I will be meeting with petrol retailers this week to raise concerns to get prices down at the pumps for all of our constituents.”

Last autumn, the chancellor said a temporary 5p-per-litre fuel duty cut introduced in 2022 would begin to end in September 2026. The tax would then gradually rise until 2027, when it returns to its pre-2022 level.

Opposition parties have urged Reeves to cancel the planned increase and keep fuel duty at its current level.

The Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives and Reform UK have all called on the chancellor to leave the tax unchanged.

Iran, under US-Israel attacks, has fired rockets and missiles toward Israel and in the Gulf, and has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation, disrupting oil markets. The strategic waterway linking the Persian Gulf with the Arabian Sea normally handles about 20 million barrels of oil shipments daily and around 20% of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade, most of which is destined for Asian markets.

The disruption is forcing exporters to search for alternative shipping routes while also cutting off the region’s large exports of crop nutrients used in fertilizer production.

The supply shock, combined with rising energy and freight costs, is expected to increase pressure on global food supply chains and contribute to higher food prices worldwide.

US President Donald Trump warned Monday that any attempt by Iran to disrupt oil shipments through the strait would trigger a response "20 times harder" than previous American military strikes.