EU anti-trust head warns of damage of oil-price fixing

Oil-price manipulation may have wrought “huge” damage to consumers, the EU’s anti-trust chief said yesterday as he drew comparisons with EU investigations into the rigging of bank rates.

While it is too soon to draw conclusions from the May 14 raids on Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Statoil ASA, and Platts, EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia said both sets of probes target price manipulation through a reporting system.

Anti-trust regulators arrived unannounced at Platts, as well as at oil companies, in its investigation into possible collusion by traders. Platts provided data and is co-operating with the inquiry. It continues to publish benchmark prices, including North Sea Dated Brent, against which more than half the world’s crude is valued.