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Supplies, who is the Director of Industry, to control, inter alia, the supply and use of oil and also to regulate the price at which oil may be sold. These powers have never been used, and I do not envisage them being used except in times of extreme crisis.
Having said that, I am not surprised at the general unhappiness that developed over the oil companies' gyrating pricing policies in the 48 hours after the budget speech, and I would encourage them to improve their public relations. No doubt a further decrease in prices in the
next few weeks will assist.