Ok, not a forecourt owner, but here goes in trying to create a straightforward explanation.
When Oil was $147 a barrell, it was converting to about €91
Now $98 is converting to about €73. So while the barrell dropped by €18 (19%) the price you paid has dropped by 10 cent per litre or 8%. You also need to take into account that some of these stations may have purchased their fuel nearly a week ago, when the barrell was about $7-8 higher.
Not in any way defending the pricing of Petrol or Diesel, but just trying to explain how the different aspects of the world economy affect our buying prices!!
I understand what you are saying but to be fair to the people complaining about it, when oil was going up in price, the dollar was getting weaker and yet the consumer was still hit with the full impact of oil price rises.
There are economic factors at play but there is no doubt that retailers/ oil companies must be trying to have higher margins for as long as possible and I can't blame them.
The whole question of anti-competitive practices is imho a bit redundant given the fact that filling stations make practically all their profits from deli/confectionery/hot food/grocery sales on the forecourt, and there is no shortage of competition for that trade.I would only have a problem if it was proven that garages/ oil companies were engaging in anti-competitive behaviour but there is no evidence of that as far as I know.
I understand what you are saying but to be fair to the people complaining about it, when oil was going up in price, the dollar was getting weaker and yet the consumer was still hit with the full impact of oil price rises.
There are economic factors at play but there is no doubt that retailers/ oil companies must be trying to have higher margins for as long as possible and I can't blame them. I would only have a problem if it was proven that garages/ oil companies were engaging in anti-competitive behaviour but there is no evidence of that as far as I know.
I have lived in RoI for approx 7 years and have noticed that the 3 petrol stations in my locality have ALWAYS had the EXACT same price for unleaded and diesel. They are 3 different companies (Shell, Texaco, Top).
Why would the prices NEVER be different? Because, I believe, they operate price-fixing.
Not 'he'...'they'. The oil companies would be the ones to look at,Do they happen to be owned by the same person/company? One guy owns 4 of the top 6 filling stations in Cavan town, each with different oil companies. He can hardly be accused of illegal price-fixing if he charges uniform prices across all 4 outlets.
Do they happen to be owned by the same person/company? One guy owns 4 of the top 6 filling stations in Cavan town, each with different oil companies. He can hardly be accused of illegal price-fixing if he charges uniform prices across all 4 outlets.
Not 'he'...'they'. The oil companies would be the ones to look at,
On another note, a family member is involved in the oil industry and tells me that the fuel coming off the one ship pours into different oil companies bowsers...explain that one while paying more for Shell than Top !
Quite possible, but also highly illegal and quite likely to get the owners into serious doo-doo if detected. Smarter and more legal for X to keep an eye on Y's price displays every day and adjust their own prices accordingly every time Y's prices change.No, 3 different owners, but it is a small town and I would say there is the odd phone call made late at night with the question, "so what are we charging tomorrow?".
Not 'he'...'they'. The oil companies would be the ones to look at,
On another note, a family member is involved in the oil industry and tells me that the fuel coming off the one ship pours into different oil companies bowsers...explain that one while paying more for Shell than Top !
Advertising obviously works s'pose, that's why Shell spend so much on it. In fairness they probably need more positive publicity in Ireland than most !
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