The FairFuel UK lobby group appears to have failed in its attempts to trigger a major inquiry into the damaging impact of oil price speculation.

Despite submitting a petition that contained 32,000 signatures to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the regulator suggested it will not be investigating oil price processes.

Logistics companies in the UK are at the mercy of fluctuating commodity markets and numerous organisations, including the AA and RAC, have bemoaned the lack of transparency in the industry in recent months.

Businesses have seen petrol and diesel rates soar in the past few years and drivers are concerned that prices at the pump do not always reflect the cost of wholesale energy.

Writing in his blog, FairFuel UK campaigner and motoring journalist Quentin Willson said he does not understand why the OFT is not keen to launch an inquiry.

"If the OFT processes are getting in the way of a full oil price market investigation in this country, then maybe its time to change the processes," he wrote.