Increased profit margins at German oil companies could be foul play - report

Germany's cartel office has evidence of increased profit margins at oil companies that could point to a violation of competition rules, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Friday citing an Economy Ministry response to a legislator's query.

"With regard to the fuel markets, initial data sets from the German Federal Cartel Office show that the gaps between crude oil and refinery selling prices have increased significantly," the ministry's letter to a member of the hard-left party Die Linke said.

It was also possible that structural competition problems, and not competition rule violations, had led to the price increases, the ministry added, according to the report.