AS conflict in the Middle East continues and the $4.50 cap on petroleum products is set to expire this week, president of the Consumers Intervention of Jamaica (CIJ), Michael Diamond is calling for fairer and more transparent pricing at the nation’s pumps — arrangements he argues should not be left solely to retailers.

Chiding particularly gasoline retailers for what may become inconsistent and excessive mark-ups at a time of global uncertainty, he stressed the need for fuel to be sold in accordance with the price point at which it was purchased.

Diamond said that with petroleum markets largely operated on futures trading, prices at the pumps are often determined by expectations of future supply and demand rather than current conditions. For him, this therefore raises some concern, given that many retailers are still selling fuel which was purchased at earlier, lower prices for increases that do not accurately reflect the actual cost of existing inventory.

“The war that began February 28, 2026 disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and hit Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG complex. Global prices spiked — Brent settled at $90.90 on Friday last and LNG spot prices in Asia jumped over 140 per cent. That’s a problem for future shipments. It’s not a problem for the fuel already here,” Diamond said in a recent statement as he highlighted the hypocrisy of pricing policies for the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), which ties its fuel charge to current market prices, and Petrojam, which has linked pump prices directly to the war.

“This is price gouging dressed up as market mechanics. Retailers are collecting windfall profits on inventory they bought cheap, because consumers can’t tell the difference,” he added.

Diamond, further doubling down on his arguments during an interview with the Jamaica Observer on Tuesday, said that with a small group of multinational suppliers dominating distribution and, in some cases, also owning service stations, “this further creates an uneven playing field as independent dealers must buy fuel from competitors who may not offer them the same prices”.

To address these disparities he called for stronger oversight from regulators, including the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC), the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), and the Fair Trading Commission.

“In light of all that has been taking place in the market with gas prices weekly, the CIJ also wants to see more routine auditing of supply and pricing to ensure that increases are justified and to deter any instances of price gouging, even outside of officially declared emergencies,” Diamond also stated while advocating for clearer public communication about how fuel pricing works, to better inform consumers.

The CIJ, established in 2015, has for the last few years largely operated out of the spotlight, but Diamond said the body in its mission continues to actively advocate for consumer rights through education and policy engagement.

The president’s latest sentiments, however, follow a recent decision by Government to end gasoline subsidies amid rising global oil prices — a move likely to result in the full pass-through of increases to consumers, which could start as early as Thursday when the next set of prices are to be announced. With the removal of the $4.50 cap, as confirmed by Energy Minister Daryl Vaz last week, anxiety has been mounting among consumers about the possibility of sharp increases.

As the stakeholders consider a new tiered pricing mechanism to replace the previous system — which cost billions to cushion weekly increases — the Government has in the meantime urged citizens to conserve fuel as part of broader measures to manage any economic fall-out.

Prior to the recent geopolitical tensions global oil prices were relatively stable, averaging about US$70 per barrel with moderate fluctuations. The escalation in conflict has since disrupted that stability, placing sustained upward pressure on both crude oil and refined petroleum prices.

Diamond, in proposing what he regards as simple fixes to the matter — provided there is sufficient will to act — called for proper auditing of inventory logs and the mandating of fuel purchased before the conflict to be sold at pre-war cost, plus fair margins. This, he believes could help to curb opportunistic mark-ups by retailers. Additionally, he stressed the need for the country’s net international reserve of US$6.8 billion to be used to stabilise prices, and not just “sit idly”.

Underscoring what he sees as the Government’s critical role in monitoring and regulating fuel prices, Diamond said authorities must seek to investigate the practices of gasoline retailers so as to ensure their pricing mechanism remains fair and justified.

“Without oversight, consumers will continue to suffer from inflated prices that do not correlate with genuine market conditions,” he said, adding that Jamaicans are being forced into demand destruction not by global supply constraints, but by local profiteering.

“Until Government treats this as the gross violation it is, every litre pumped is money stolen from consumers who have no choice but to pay,” he added.

Responding to the concerns, president the Jamaica Gasoline Retailers Association (JGRA) Phillip Chong told the Business Observer on Tuesday that he does not expect to see any form of price gouging taking place among his members.

“I don’t foresee any price gouging but there is also a middle man in all of this, which is the marketing companies, and I cannot speak for them,” he said.

He, however, noted that those registered with the JGRA are more likely to add the standard percentage margin of about 12–15 per cent, regardless of price changes as a result of the Middle East situation.

Chong further explained that with there being no central authority to set fuel prices, dealers will be largely left free to determine their own pricing — and the JGRA cannot legally fix or mandate how they operate in a deregulated environment.

Attributing blame for any unethical practice that may be seen to marketers (suppliers) who may sell fuel to different stations at varying prices, he said this is what has often created variability across the market.

He said that while the JGRA promotes a code of ethics among its roughly 120 members, there are over 300 retailers islandwide, leaving many outside its direct influence.

“The JGRA cannot regulate the market, and as such we can only continue to encourage ethical behaviour among our members. This is not the first time that we are in a crisis-like situation, and our members have acted quite honourably and diligent in their dealings,” Chong said.

The CIJ was formed in 2015 to protect the rights of consumers.