MSE News: Petrol prices set to rise further, says AA

50Twuncle

waqasahmed wrote: »

We pay some of the highest rates in Europe for our fuel

If you want cheap fuel - move to Poland or Hungary or even Luxembourg


Country Unleaded 95 petrol price per litre in euros December 14th 2011 Diesel price per litre in euros December 14th 2011
Austria 1.33 1.33
Belgium 1.44 1.32
Czech Rep 1.33 1.34
Denmark 1.49 1.35
France 1.49 1.36
Germany 1.47 1.36
Greece 1.61 1.42
Hungary 1.19 1.18
Ireland 1.50 1.45
Italy 1.71 1.70
Latvia 1.29 1.33
Luxembourg 1.27 1.20
Netherlands 1.55 1.32
Norway 1.65 1.65
Poland 1.19 1.20
Portugal 1.50 1.4
Slovakia 1.46 1.39
Slovenia 1.32 1.28
Spain 1.29 1.31
Sweden 1.48 1.54
Switzerland 1.34 1.42
United Kingdom 1.58 1.69

tight_arze

blades123 wrote: »

But if you pay less tax then you must sacrifice other things like free NHS

If the Government was to cut fuel duty why should we have to sacrifice something else? Funny they say there is no money then 33 billion is suddenly available for a new high speed rail network.

If the government really wanted to make the cost of filling up cheaper they could. Its a case of can't or won't.

anon_ymous

tight_arze wrote: »

If the Government was to cut fuel duty why should we have to sacrifice something else? Funny they say there is no money then 33 billion is suddenly available for a new high speed rail network.

If the government really wanted to make the cost of filling up cheaper they could. Its a case of can't or won't.

I guess they can "afford" to spend money on a high speed rail line, because they worked out the cost/benefit.

The rail line is meant to be an investment ie: something that makes a profit for the country. The NHS is an investment in health, not an investment for profit so there's not as much money available.

Unfortunate, really

SHIPSHAPE

psyman17 wrote: »

The biggest problem is the amount of tax we have to pay on top of the cost of petrol.

Absolutely.

When prices for things are beyond control then that is understandable. If bad weather affects orange exporting countries then orange juice will be more expensive.

However, it just bewilders me when ministers say the price of fuel is a concern. Well cut the tax!

It's like being concerned that your hands hurt because you keep putting them in the fire! Just stop doing it.

SHIPSHAPE

21Twinkle wrote: »

Austria 1.33 1.33
Belgium 1.44 1.32
Czech Rep 1.33 1.34
Denmark 1.49 1.35
France 1.49 1.36
Germany 1.47 1.36
Greece 1.61 1.42
Hungary 1.19 1.18
Ireland 1.50 1.45
Italy 1.71 1.70
Latvia 1.29 1.33
Luxembourg 1.27 1.20
Netherlands 1.55 1.32
Norway 1.65 1.65
Poland 1.19 1.20
Portugal 1.50 1.4
Slovakia 1.46 1.39
Slovenia 1.32 1.28
Spain 1.29 1.31
Sweden 1.48 1.54
Switzerland 1.34 1.42
United Kingdom 1.58 1.69

Interesting how diesel is almost exclusively cheaper than unleaded in the countires listed.

It used to be like that here.

fiendishlyclever

I admit that duty is the biggest factor for petrol/diesel being expensive at the moment, but as supplies run out the prices WILL go up in years to come. We need to find alternatives to our dependency on fossil fuels. Thirty years ago we coped well with relatively few cars but now we drive everywhere and some houses have four cars - that can't continue.

Mids_Costcutter

SHIPSHAPE wrote: »

Interesting how diesel is almost exclusively cheaper than unleaded in the countires listed.

It used to be like that here.

The explanation usually given when this is brought up in news programmes is that there is a lack of refinery capacity in the UK. However that may be only be part of the picture. In the UK the fuel tax is the same for unleaded petrol and diesel. Probably in most other European countries diesel is taxed at a lower rate on the basis that it's better for the environment: diesel engines are more efficient than petrol ones and diesel fuel requires less refining. The fuel tax on diesel is less than unleaded petrol in Norway and Germany, but I haven't investigated all the other European countries. Significantly increasing worldwide demand for diesel coupled with a lack of refining capacity here means more diesel has to be imported so higher prices again.

I suppose the question to ask is whether the UK Goverment should encourage greater use of diesel by decreasing fuel tax on it (while increasing that on petrol to balance tax incomes)? Of course though as Fiendishly Clever points out we have to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

rmg1

I think the more important question here is why don't petrol prices come down as fast as they go up when the price of oil comes down?
When was the last time anyone saw a fuel price decrease, even though oil prices have been dropping for a while (from memory).

Pincher

Mids_Costcutter wrote: »

The explanation usually given when this is brought up in news programmes is that there is a lack of refinery capacity in the UK.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/9034701/Petroplus-bankruptcy-Government-confident-London-and-South-East-face-no-petrol-shortage.html


We shall see whether losing 20% of London and SouthEast refining capacity affects prices. I'm in London, oh dear.

keys27

Well in Lincoln, we love spending money on fuel, so we drive foot hard down in built up areas and if we have a motorcycle, we can emulate screaming banshees.

Seriously though, it's no good reading tips in these columns and forgetting them when you get behind the wheel. If everybody used these tips and commonsenese, sales of fuel would then fall and prices would then have to be more competitive.
Unfortunately Osborne wouldn't like lower tax revenues, and unfortunately we all like to be boy and girl racers.
So pay up and shut up !