So are we really being fleeced on Petrol Prices?

M

marksa

Registered User
Messages
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From so many corners, the shout goes up that we are being fleeced on petrol and diesel prices. I have not seen much real analytical data to support this beyond the anecdotal "well prices went up real quick when oil prices went up, but are slow to come down".

To this end I did some research and came across the following:

As of 29th september 2008, we ranked one of the lowest per litre prices (including duty) in western Europe at EUR1.28 per litre for petrol, with only spain at EUR1.14 and LUX at EUR1.21 lower than us.
Source;
[broken link removed]

Then looking at the prices for comparison between now and one year ago:

A year ago, Now
​
95octane petrol EUR1.15 EUR1.23
Diesel EUR1.10 EUR1.30
Home Heating (1000l) EUR734 EUR830
Source for 1 year data;
[broken link removed]
Now prices - personal observation, and yes there will be wide country variance - but that is not the purpose of the posting to spend time discussing best price availability as there are many posts on that topic

Other factors to consider

USD/EUR exchange rate:
INDEX
1 year ago USD1.415 = EUR1.00 100
3 months ago USD1.578 = EUR1.00
Now USD1.343 = EUR1.00
Source:
This site does also provide some useful charts of Brent, Gasoline (us wholesale gallon prices ), but I can't export them to analyse in excel. However, it does show that gasoline prices have collapsed in the last 2 weeks, with Gasoline going from USD2.65 per US Gallon on Sep27th'08 to USD1.87 per US Gallon to Oct10th'08, and now well below their Oct'07 level of approx USD2.18 per Gallon. This would imply that in the next few weeks/month that retail prices here should fall back to below oct'07 prices, where petrol was EUR1.15 per litre here.

Now if someone could get a history of Platt's EN590 FOB Rotterdam, then we could see a real picture of what the wholesale cost of refined diesel is, but that's not available to Joe Public (anyone got a bloomberg screen???)as I can see it.
 
Surprise surprise, it's Ireland and we're been fleeced.

Relative to the Euro oil prices are 40% down from peak. Spot prices now trading at $77. By my calaculations peak price diesel was €1.49 ppl, so it should be sub €1.

Forecourts should have been changing prices quicker than a fruit machine reel in Bundoran. Surprisingly not though - €1.26 ppl [pathetic]

Even Gordon Brown is trying to do something, however facile

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7662918.stm


Gordon Brown has called for the recent falls in the price of oil to be passed on to UK consumers.
Click to expand...
The price of oil has plummeted - from a high of $147 a barrel for US light crude this summer to $82.24 at midday on Friday. The prime minister said: "I want these price cuts passed onto the consumer, and passed on as quickly as possible."
Click to expand...

Are our government too pathetic to care??
 
one other point, with falling crude, and therefore EN590 prices, this could lead to the government putting a sneaky 5c-10c duty onto prices per litre next week. This last happened back in 2000 when prices at the pumps were at 59p per litre after a long decline in prices, and (I think) 5p was added in duty.
 


No they are not too pathetic to care.

They are cynically only too happy to extract the maximum amount of tax and excise duty from transport because they have made such of a total mess of the economy.

They will get revenue in no matter what

Of course the "Green" party in their quasi-religious desire to "save the planet" are demanding a carbon tax and to hell with the poor and the effect an inflationary stealth tax will have on the economy

The government wil lbe only too happy to increase various taxes on fuel and of course blame it on the "Green's" and "their" carbon tax.

The best we can hope for is an early election to remove them from office
 
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