Where too for fuel prices?

[RichyBoy]

Thinking about buying a very low mpg car but hesitant if fuel rises above the £1.60 a litre mark. After all this middle east trouble settles done how likely is it the governments will do more QE so the banks can continue to speculate on commodities sending fuel prices up even higher?

[Matt UK]

As a general trend, it is only going one way...

[Locke]

My local Tesco garage dropped prices by 2p today

[diablo676]

I doubt if any extra quantitative easing in this country will add much to fuel prices. American QE has tended to go into food recently. The fuel market is basically driven by supply and demand, so while speculation increased prices in 2008 the traders got their fingers burnt if they didn't get out in time.

The Saudis have a few barrels spare and they don't want prices to go too high because they know that the oil companies have extra fields which become profitable at high prices and also that renewables look much more attractive as well.

So unless Saudi Arabia becomes unstable you shouldn't worry too much. But who knows ??

[i remember]

What goes up must come down.

But in this case, the goverment will just up the tax when the price of oil drops, just cos they can. fkers

[mercfunder]

if I knew the answer to that would I be sat here wasting my life posting on PH?
I'd be on a beach some where giving Mark Zuckerberg a run for his money, but at a guess I'd say ever upwards.

[Bridgewaterfalls]

The long term trend oil price is determined by both global demand and ease of extraction. Global demand can only go up with China, and India (to a lesser extent) etc. becoming more motorized. The easy oil seems to have been found. That looks to be an upward trend. In the short term markets respond in their usual exagerated way to events.

Pump prices are of course mostly tax. I have noticed a fall in traffic on my commute, I dont know if thats North West job losses or people using less fuel. Even though fuel is not that big a cost for me, I have started driving more economically as I resent paying so much in tax (22mpg to 34 mpg!). If total revenue falls the price may come down, but that argument failed to persuade the government on 50% top rate of tax and 60% odd marginal rate at 100K.

[Douglas Arfempty]

Locke said:

My local Tesco garage dropped prices by 2p today

Mine went up by 4p yesterday! Around my way we've always had fuel 4-5p per litre cheaper than anywhere else in a 20 mile radius...not any more.

[mercfunder]

Will nobody think of our poor colonial cousins over the pond, they are up in arms at $3.79/gallon.

[Fox-]

diablo676 said:

I doubt if any extra quantitative easing in this country will add much to fuel prices. American QE has tended to go into food recently. The fuel market is basically driven by supply and demand, so while speculation increased prices in 2008 the traders got their fingers burnt if they didn't get out in time.

Much of the recent price increase is speculation as well, there is no physical supply issue yet.

QE may well increase fuel prices because oil is bought in dollars not sterling, and QE and the refusal to increase interest rates results in a low value for sterling, meaning oil costs even more.

This is the reason why despite being some $45 off the 2008 peaks, fuel prices are far higher than they were back in Summer 2008 (Well, that and the extra 10p duty added since then).

[Lefty]

OP, unless you're doing big miles why worry?

miles	5000	5000
mpg	10	10
fuel cost	1.3	1.6
Annual cost	2951	3632

The difference between 1.30 and 1.60 is only £700.

Edited by Lefty on Thursday 10th March 09:47

[HellDiver]

Local Tesco is up to 130.9p for unleaded. The Maxol (N. Ireland Esso) down the road is 133.9p a litre for unleaded. Harsh.

[4Q]

i remember said:

What goes up must come down.

[RichyBoy]

Demand is less, its speculators that are driving the prices up isn't it? What I don't understand is our governments print money to give out all this leveraged liquidity and then it's used to force up commodities prices to make profits for banks however it increases prices for us; more so I guess for the countries currently in turmoil.

I just heard that it will be $200 oil by June, so I guess that translates into more than £1.60 a litre. For me it's not the difference between 1.3 and 1.6, I only see that its 1.6 and feel like I'm being ripped off.

[ashes]

With so much tax on fuel, I wonder if the govt would be interested in lowering prices?

My - a flying pig!

[CraigyMc]

Lefty said:

OP, unless you're doing big miles why worry?

miles	5000	5000
mpg	10	10
fuel cost	1.3	1.6
Annual cost	2951	3632

The difference between 1.30 and 1.60 is only £700.

Edited by Lefty on Thursday 10th March 09:47

What if you do 20000 miles a year, and what if the price goes over £1.60 per litre?

:P

C

[Yodafone]

Lefty said:

OP, unless you're doing big miles why worry?

miles	5000	5000
mpg	10	10
fuel cost	1.3	1.6
Annual cost	2951	3632

The difference between 1.30 and 1.60 is only £700.

Edited by Lefty on Thursday 10th March 09:47

Yes that is only the cost of his own fuel useage, what about the other things the price rise will affect such as the extra cost to get products onto the selves of shops, they need to recoup that extra fuel cost to them so it will cost more one way or another.

[J4CKO]

Isnt there some economics concept that says that if the price rises too much it kills the market or something like that ?

Surely it is not in the interest of the oil companies to hike it too much but to keep a constant revenue at the high side of average ?

The government need to realise what its doing to the country and perhaps look elsewhere, petrol is like a spot they cant leave alone.

[marsred]

Bridgewaterfalls said:

I have noticed a fall in traffic on my commute, I dont know if thats North West job losses or people using less fuel.

Interesting that you should say that as I too have noticed a significant dro in commuter traffic in the last month or so. I'm also in the NW. It seemed so sudden that i thought there must be some mysterious reason but as time passes I can only asume it is fuel costs.

Not a bad side-effect of the rising cost of motoring though.

[Galsia]

J4CKO said:

Surely it is not in the interest of the oil companies to hike it too much but to keep a constant revenue at the high side of average ?

The oil companies are not the ones selling petrol for a silly price, its the Government adding tax.