Feb 3 (Reuters) - Spain's competition watchdog said on Tuesday it was imposing fines totalling 20.5 million euros ($24.2 million) on three companies in the Repsol group for what it called an abusive margin-squeeze strategy that harmed independent and low-cost fuel stations.
The CNMC said Repsol held a dominant position in Spain's nationwide wholesale market for automotive fuels supplied to service stations, which carries a special duty not to restrict competition.
The regulator found Repsol raised wholesale prices charged to rival stations between April and December 2022, while simultaneously cutting effective retail prices at its own network for professional customers - mainly truckers.
Repsol said it firmly rejected the fine and would appeal, arguing the regulator relied on a partial, out-of-context account with methodological and legal flaws and failed to prove either market dominance or any foreclosure effect.
The company said it acted transparently and in consumers' interests during the exceptional market conditions of 2022, at the height of the inflation crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The CNMC's fine affects Repsol Comercial De Productos Petroliferos, Solred and Campsa Estaciones De Servicio, it said.
The three companies are also banned from taking part in public tenders related to the supply of automotive fuel for six months, the CNMC added in a statement. The decision can be appealed before Spain's High Court.
($1 = 0.8460 euros)
Reporting by Paolo Laudani and David Latona; Additional reporting by Pietro Lombardi; Editing by Kirsten Donovan
Source: Reuters