cool_hand Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13593591 An alliance of European motoring organisations has written to the European Union calling for an investigation into the price of fuel. The call comes from the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in a letter to the European Union. The group represents 35 million European drivers, including members of the RAC and AA in the UK. The FIA said the way petrol prices are currently set was "far from transparent". Record prices A full tank of fuel for an average European car now costs around £10 more than it did a year ago. The price of fuel in the UK reached record levels in April as the cost of Brent crude rose above $125 a barrel. Although the price of crude has fallen $10 since then, motoring groups say the wholesale price of petrol has not fallen as fast. The price of crude oil is only one factor affecting the petrol price. Oil is traded in dollars, so the exchange rate against the dollar has a big impact on prices. Taxes, transportation and refining costs also vary - impacting the cost of fuel at the pump. Investigate market But the FIA says the EU should investigate the way petrol prices are set for the European market. Most European petrol prices are derived from the Rotterdam spot market where some cargoes of petrol and diesel are bought and sold. But the FIA is not sure that this market works effectively. The organisation also wants the EU to look into the role of speculators who invest in the oil market. Mr Krauss claimed the "resulting volatility" in petrol prices had a negative financial impact on consumers. The complaint is backed by the UK motoring organisation the AA, which is calling for an independent regulator to oversee the petrol market. "No one is giving us any answer as to why petrol prices are so high," said AA public affairs spokesman Luke Bosdet. "We need greater transparency so everyone can see we are paying a fair price for fuel," he added. Retailers have said that prices do go down when the cost of petrol has fallen. One way for sellers to balance the changing price of fuel is to buy in advance. The UK's largest supermarket, Tesco, say they try to keep prices low and will sometimes buy fuel in advance to balance changes in price. But in a statement the retailer said it was difficult to predict when to buy. "As everybody knows, it's very difficult to predict movements in crude oil prices, which can go down as well as up. So it's wrong to say that buying in advance is necessarily an advantage," Tesco said in a statement. "A platform with such a small volume is doubted to be a representative indicator for the vast European market," said Werner Krauss, chairman of the FIA Eurocouncil. Ask George Osbourne, I'm sure he'll give you an answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCountOfNowhere Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 "No one is giving us any answer as to why petrol prices are so high" Greed and stupidity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffy666 Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 "No one is giving us any answer as to why petrol prices are so high" Greed and stupidity. Multiple middle eastern wars and insurrections, booming demand in China (+India, Brazil, etc), continuing decline in OECD production, flat world production for 6 years, increased supply of dollars/euros/pounds.. Plus taxes, obviously. Plenty of reasons why petrol prices are so high. What they should be asking is how we get out of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Realistbear Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 (edited) I could write the results of their investigation in one sentence: "We have found that petrol prices are very dear." IMpact on prices or oil company behaviour: 0 Edited May 31, 2011 by Realistbear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cica Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Doubt this will get very far when you have independent petrol retails swearing blind that the supermarkets are selling petrol at a loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichB Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 "No one is giving us any answer as to why petrol prices are so high" Greed and stupidity. Would we all be happy to pay £0.70/l? Well, if so, perhaps we can convince the government to reduce fuel duty by 50p, to just under 8p. That should go some way to correcting the issue. No problems with VAT that way either, that can stay the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Knimbies who say No Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Would we all be happy to pay £0.70/l? Well, if so, perhaps we can convince the government to reduce fuel duty by 50p, to just under 8p. That should go some way to correcting the issue. No problems with VAT that way either, that can stay the same. +1, talk about a Government masterclass in obscuring the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Democorruptcy Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 On the BBC news yesterday supermarkets were being accused of selling fuel below cost. Smaller garages were insisting the supermarkets put their prices up because it isn't fair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okaycuckoo Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Oil is traded in dollars, so the exchange rate against the dollar has a big impact on prices. As far as I understand, this is nonsense - it may be priced in $, but it trades in all currencies, like gold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottbeard Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Would we all be happy to pay £0.70/l? Well, if so, perhaps we can convince the government to reduce fuel duty by 50p, to just under 8p. That should go some way to correcting the issue. No problems with VAT that way either, that can stay the same. All other things being equal, cheap petrol (and its knock ons to other transported goods) is great. BUT in reality a cut in fuel duty means another tax would have to rise to make back the lost tax revenue. No one in my family drives much, so i'm afraid that personally i'd rather see fuel taxed than - say - VAT increased again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Knimbies who say No Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 (edited) All other things being equal, cheap petrol (and its knock ons to other transported goods) is great. BUT in reality a cut in fuel duty means another tax would have to rise to make back the lost tax revenue. No one in my family drives much, so i'm afraid that personally i'd rather see fuel taxed than - say - VAT increased again. We need to get away from this nonsense. The scope of Government is far too great in the UK. We should be hacking limbs from the parasite, not squabbling about who ought to be shafted by what etc. People get to keep a fraction of what they earn, it ought to be more. Taxes ought to drop across the board. Instead we've seen fuel tax revenue increase and VAT rise. Well, blow me! When fuel ceases to be something that taxes can be increased on anymore, they'll be raised again on something you do give a sh*t about. Ad infinitum. Edited May 31, 2011 by cheeznbreed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottbeard Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 We need to get away from this nonsense. The scope of Government is far too great in the UK. We should be hacking limbs from the parasite, not squabbling about who ought to be shafted by what etc. People get to keep a fraction of what they earn, it ought to be more. Taxes ought to drop across the board. Instead we've seen fuel tax revenue increase and VAT rise. Well, blow me! When fuel ceases to be something that taxes can be increased on anymore, they'll be raised again on something you do give a sh*t about. Ad infinitum. I agree, but you can't go from government expenditure being £650m and taxes £500m to both being say £250m overnight. It's just not practical. The coalition is at least making a start. I agree also that there is too much focus on fuel duty. However, since this is a thread on fuel prices I think chipping in to say not everyone is outraged about fuel duty seems on topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skomer Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 (edited) £1.39 a litre for unleaded round where i live - roads packed probably it being half-term this week. See no sign of any change in behaviour Edited May 31, 2011 by skomer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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