Here we go again - Fuel prices spike even higher

[damian_steele]

The average petrol price looks set to hit £1 a litre within weeks after oil prices surged to a record high yesterday on the back of mounting tensions in the Middle East.

Unleaded fuel prices hit an all-time record of 97.02p a litre yesterday, the AA Motoring Trust said. Prices have risen 2p a litre in the past month alone.

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The oil markets seem to react badly to almost every piece of news these days.

Is this Israeli / Lebanese thing really a reason for raising prices or is someone just taking the opportunity to make vast profits?

What do you think?

[thisnthatz]

The oil markets seem to react badly to almost every piece of news these days.

Is this Israeli / Lebanese thing really a reason for raising prices or is someone just taking the opportunity to make vast profits?

What do you think?

Well this was the news report back in February. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4688106.stm, http://www.itv.com/news/1751625.html Guess we know exactly who is making the profits. Especially as their prices are about 4p a litre dearer that the supermarkets. Boycot them. It's the only way they will learn.

[Paulwillhappy]

God Bless......................................

Dick Cheney & http://www.halliburton.com/

[plasticasprin]

Like 'm whatyagonna do about it?

[timebase]

Hope you like this gif....shame about the prices...

[emma5721]

dont know who is profiting
on the oil prices dont care at the moment

itsnt it a bit beside the main point???ther's a crisis at the moment which is important far beyond anyones ability/willingness to pay the extra cost for getting their car about

[damian_steele]

itsnt it a bit beside the main point???ther's a crisis at the moment which is important far beyond anyones ability/willingness to pay the extra cost for getting their car about

Yes, the fighting in and around Israel is important, but that is not the topic of this post.

If you wish to discuss the wider ramifications of the Israeli action and the potential for massive escalation involving much of the middle east, then let me know and we can move it to another thread.

However, the price of oil goes far beyond whether folks can fill up with petrol. Increases in oil costs effect almost every single consumer item from TVs and luxury goods right down to the basics like food. Companies who profiteer from world crisis are literally taking the food from the mouths of babies.

[hoverstar]

However, the price of oil goes far beyond whether folks can fill up with petrol. Increases in oil costs effect almost every single consumer item from TVs and luxury goods right down to the basics like food. Companies who profiteer from world crisis are literally taking the food from the mouths of babies.

What you say is absolutely correct Damian.
However, I don't blame the oil companies themselves.
Oil is refined into petrol/diesel and placed on the "Spot Market" and wholesalers/retailers then bid for what is available. The oil producing companies don't actually fix the RRP, that is done by the retailers based on whatever price they had to bid to win the supply from other bidders.

Maybe if the retailers got together like they do in other markets, and decided on a common price offer instead of fighting among themselves, the pump price might actually stabilise.

One thing I find annoying is the way the price of Brent Crude is used as an example when making excuses for the petrol price increases - Brent Crude is too good to be refined as petrol, it is used as a heavy industrial oil.

The other very pertinent point is that the biggest 'profiteer' in all this is H.M.Government with various taxes totalling about 70% of every litre. The litre of petrol we buy at 97p only costs about 35p. Gordon "Grabber" Brown gets the other 62p.

[hoverstar]

There is one area where the retailers are having a good laugh, and that is the price of Diesel.

Tax on Diesel is a couple of pence less that it is on Petrol and it is cheaper to produce and store, yet they charge upto 5p/ltr more. Out of 24 European countries, only 4 pay more for diesel than they do for petrol. The other 3 countries are Latvia, Slovakia & Switzerland - and theirs is between 20p & 30p cheaper than ours anyway.


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