Europe, fuel retailing: Riding out the 2004 price storm. Stephen Brooks. Petroleum Review, Retail Marketing Survey, March 2005, pp 26-27.

The high and rising oil price in 2004 presented major challenges to fuel retailers across Europe as they sought to pass on ever higher fuel purchase costs through raising their own forecourt pump prices in a way that did not compromise their competitiveness. Stephen Brooks, Downstream Consultant at Wood Mackenzie, writes that Opal’s assessments of European forecourt pump prices last year suggest that while marketing margins did show some overall erosion compared to 2003, in most countries pump prices were increased to levels that mitigated against any fundamental deterioration in fuel retailing profitability.