LONDON — The authorities on Tuesday raided the offices of several oil companies and an industry data provider as part of a broader inquiry by the European Commission into potential price manipulation.

In what the commission termed ‘'unannounced inspections,'’ investigators descended on some European offices of BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Platts, a division of the McGraw-Hill Companies that specializes in providing pricing for the oil industry. The European authorities are looking into whether the companies may have ‘'colluded in reporting distorted prices'’ in an effort ‘'to manipulate the published prices of a number of oil and biofuel products.'’

All of the companies said they were cooperating with the inquiry.

Shell said it was “assisting the European Commission in an inquiry into trading activities.” A spokesman said that the company’s offices in Rotterdam and London were “visited.”

Platts said that the European Commission had “undertaken a review” at its offices, at Canary Wharf in London. The authorities also raided BP’s oil trading operations on the lower floors of the same building. BP said in a statement that the company was “subject to an investigation.”