Petrol Prices

[Edin430]

The Aston is currently in the garage getting some work done to it and on it's return and friend and I were considering a wee run somewhere. Looked back at the last Borders run that we did to get the map and found this picture:



This was taken in 2009 and I remember taking it as everyone was debating how expensive petrol had become..

So £1.34 at Esso today, not too far off a 50% increase!!

[vxc]

i remember seeing an alan partridge episode recently showing 75p....

[Tommy Twist]

Yep, it absolutely sucks.

[Edin430]

I've noticed a £1p increase has hit all stations over the past couple of days. Round about the same time BP told everyone how many billions they made last year!

[ikarl]

I had an argument with a women at work the other day because she was saying that petrol was only £1 when she started driving in May 2009..... I didn't believe her until I looked back

[BiggestNizzy]

I had an argument with a women at work the other day because she was saying that petrol was only £1 when she started driving in May 2009..... I didn't believe her until I looked back

It was 55p or something when I started driving (awaits tut wading in with thrupence a gallon ) I could only put £5 a time in metro as it poured out if you went round corners at any speed

[Titanium S1 111S (gla)]

Having been filling up my landy (220L) for 40 quid over the summer I am a bit p’d off with our government for the level of tax on fuel in particular just now. Having said that I do realise that we are struggling with the overdraft which I still can’t believe we managed to accumulate in the good times.

How the government could have been quite so stupidly profligate is completely beyond me.

The irony is that Fred the Shred has been vilified but nobody has blamed Gordon Brown who is really responsible. Not that I am a great fan of Fred you understand I just know a scapegoat when I see one.

Cut spending to sort it out, then cut tax – particularly on go juice!

Sorry for drift.

[j2 lot]

I just checked an inflation calculator and was REALLY surprised at the result.

In 1979 or thereabouts me and a few mates were all getting driving licenses and I remember discussing how it was hardly worth it as we wouldn't be able to afford the cost of petrol at £1 a gallon - it had just risen to that heady sum

So check on an inflation calculator says £1 in 1979 is £5.67 now
Petrol I got on Monday was £1.31.9 a litre x 4.54 = £5.98 a gallon

Not the huge differential I was expecting

[Shug]

then cut tax – particularly on go juice!

Can't see that ever happening... HM Govt have got the perfect cash cow with the motorist. The second we complain about the 235 separate taxes we pay every time we look at a car, we're accused by the trendy yoghurt knitters in the media of "killing the planet with our macho ego swelling murder-wagons". So more tax and more tax, until we're reduced to pulling handcarts around.

F**king idiocy...

[scottishselise]

I am sure I can find out, but I am being lazy.
The 30p rise since the pic was posted...is it all tax?

[ruadh08]

£121 today to fill up the X5 with Diesel .............

[philthy]

It was 79.9p in 2005.

this is interesting, especially the percentages on the right side - http://www.speedlimit.org.uk/petrolprices.html

[scott_e]

Number of people cycling has increased massively over the last few years, its no wonder really.

[kenny]

I am sure I can find out, but I am being lazy.
The 30p rise since the pic was posted...is it all tax?

Most of the recent rise is down to the volatile nature of the middle east and the enconomy meaning varying crude oil prices.

The vast majority of the cost per litre is still tax though, we used to have the cheapest fuel in Europe then the Tories introduced the Fuel price escalator to increase the cost of fuel by 3% over inflation per year to "pwevent pollution and save our childwen". Soon after Labour got into power and reckoned this was a top scam so doubled the FPE to 6% per annum.

FPE now gone but fuel tax is still rising at 1-2p per litre over inflation each year so that we now have the most expensive petrol in Europe despite being one of the most oil rich European nations.

[offshorematt]

I am sure I can find out, but I am being lazy.
The 30p rise since the pic was posted...is it all tax?

Not an exact answer to your question but a bit of googling (and using figures from some of the more believable sources), suggests that the petrol price in 2007 was about £0.99/litre (with 63.25p going to HMRC through tax and VAT). Current prices assuming £1.36/litre, 80.32p goes to HMRC (perhaps the fuel price is a little high there as that was the January high).

Based on that, between 2007 and early 2012, the combined oil company and forecourt share has increased by 55% while the HMRC cut has increased by 27%.

Sounds like a case of 'greedy oil companies' again until you look at the price of brent crude (for example comparison) over the same period. At the time of 99p fuel, the price was $80/bbl - in January 2012 this was peaking at aroudn $113/bbl. So an increase of 41%. Note this ignores (rightly or wrongly) the crazy high prices in 2008 as I think it should be balanced by the <$40 trough in 2009...

So oil companies have increased prices by ~15% over the increase in oil price while the government has managed to pretty much maintain their tax level (slight decrease from 63% per litre to 59% per litre).

So in reality the majority of increase in fuel price is related to the price of crude which is driven by the markets.

Can you tell I'm having a quiet day at work?