Oil Prices - going down why not petrol

[Countryman]

Today the following is the latest information Brent crude was trading down $1.06 at $71.77.

According to the experts - series of positive developments in recent days have boosted sentiment, which had previously been hit by the conflict in Lebanon, kidnappings of foreign oil workers in Nigeria and BP's problems. The troubles had sent Brent prices to a record high above $78 a barrel.

So why has petrol not come down they went up when it went tp $78 and it is now $ 71,77 a reduction of 10% who is making THE MONEY

[mr do dar]

good point you have .. tesco asda have lowered there prices today . why not everyone ..... i travel the country a lot and bp are the most expencive and shell are the best . the oil comes from the same place so why cant the companys all charge the same . i think the price of fuel is getting too high in the highland because were paying for the people in the city . and giving the tax man one very big piece of the pie .

[j4bberw0ck]

I'm no fan of high petrol prices - I pay 106p/l at my local shop - but I think you'll find there's a lead and lag effect at work. To answer your question simply - who's making the money? Gordon Brown. 83p of the price of a litre of petrol is tax. The tax is levied at a fixed % rate so the higher the price of oil goes, the higher the tax take.

It takes time from the point at which the oil companies sell oil to the refiners for it to become petrol at the pumps.

[theone]

good point you have .. tesco asda have lowered there prices today . why not everyone ..... i travel the country a lot and bp are the most expencive and shell are the best . the oil comes from the same place so why cant the companys all charge the same . i think the price of fuel is getting too high in the highland because were paying for the people in the city . and giving the tax man one very big piece of the pie .

The taxman takes a fixed price per litre.

In most cases it's not the companies (bp, shell) etc that set the price, it's the individual garage owner. For example Mr Cox sets the price at pennyland station, not ESSO. He has to decide how much profit he wants to make then sets the price accordingly.

Funny how 4 people with that surname logged objections against ASDA..........

[bigpete]

Hi
Can't fail to notice that the instant oil prices surge, Thurso fuel outlets put their prices up (obviously they've not just ALL had a delivery and paid at that price) and yet when - like now - the price goes down (Morrisons in Inverness 93p) the one's in Thurso stay at the high price..Esso says he's making 5p a lire, but seeing he paid a lower price for his delivery he must be making a blinking LOT more than that...Greed?

[bigpete]

Hi me again - just in case anyone's thinking that petrol prices in Thurso/Wick are 'reasonable' click on; http://www.petrolprices.com/ it gives prices in any part of the country..

Wonder if the Cox's objected to Planning for ASDA in Tain?

[scotsboy]

Do the sums - work out how many litres are in a barrel, then compare that to the price at the pump. Then you may see that the actual price change in a barrel of oil dose not matter all that much.

[j4bberw0ck]

For example Mr Cox sets the price at pennyland station, not ESSO. He has to decide how much profit he wants to make then sets the price accordingly
There are some differences. If Pennyland is a privately owned filling station, no way will he be buying fuel at the same price as ASDA. He'll (presumably) have to buy from Highland Fuels or similar at whatever price they're prepared to supply him at. ASDA will have a central purchasing agreement with an oil company or companies that reflects the hundreds, maybe thousands, of millions of litres a year they shift. A privately owned place has to maintain the premises, pumps and tanks out of his margin as well.

Our local shop sells petrol and diesel; the margin is wafer thin and I suspect that if the tanks ever start to corrode, we'll lose that because there's no way the investment in new tanks could be justified. Until a few years ago it was possible to get a fuel card to buy fuel at the national average pump price at the Esso station in Kirkwall, but no longer unless you operate a fleet of 10 vehicles or more. I suppose it was the same with you in Caithness.

As for pump prices increasing as soon as oil increases, well, they don't. It takes a few days, because prices all the way down the chain increase - the petrol in the tanks now has to be replaced with petrol at the new price on next delivery. When petrol prices decline, it's competition in the local marketplace that determines when and by how much they fall, not the oil companies.