Fuel price rises

TimSynths

duncanthedog said:

It has been almost a full year since I last filled the tank on my Dacia Logan, fair enough I have only done about 480 miles in that time but still.

I did 1136 between the last two MOT's, this time it will be even less, probably on par with you, I'm getting through car batteries more than fill ups! 

RobM99

Service stations' profit margin is about 4p per litre. Their major loss of income is the sweets, sandwiches etc. Almost every service station has an "implant" (i.e. shop - Costa, M&S food etc) -  that's where the profit is. Those that don't ( a rarity) are miles from anywhere and are therefore more expensive - Motorways are another story.

Grumpy_chap

Penguin_ said:

Consumption is down so prices go up a bit to cover this.

There is far more to the price of fuel on the petrol forecourt than demand for petrol.  However, the basic rule of supply and demand still applies - reduced consumption or petrol does not lead to increased prices.  The only thing is, the demand link that controls fuel prices at the pumps is not directly at the pumps, but global supply for oil, which really reflects the overall amount of manufacturing plus demand for energy (heating homes) - road transport is only one cog in that wheel.

The prices of fuel on the forecourt dropped massively at the start of the first lockdown (March) because zero road traffic coincided with exceptionally good weather across Europe plus global (EU, China) drops in manufacturing activity.  That same combination of separate demand drivers is not repeated now, even though there is UK (and much of Europe) in lockdown.

203846930

I'm getting through car batteries more than fill ups!

That's too many short journeys, not enough time for the charge used to start the car to get back into the battery, you need to run the engine for about 15/20 minutes to get the charge back, if you use things like lights, wipers or indicators etc, it will be longer.

A couple along the road could not understand why the battery on their brand new Kia was flat after only 3 months, I pointed out that they never went more than 100 yards when they moved the car from the garage to the parking spot their van was in overnight then back to the garage again at the end of the day when the van came home.

macman

Furthermore, when demand drops, production drops too. It may still be stored as crude, but no-one is going to be refining the stuff to petrol unless it can be sold. 

AdrianC

TimSynths said:
I'm getting through car batteries more than fill ups! 

Have you considered buying a charger...?

TimSynths

AdrianC said:

TimSynths said:
I'm getting through car batteries more than fill ups! 

Have you considered buying a charger...?

I have one! used it first in April, took it off to charge for 24 hrs then a few weeks later it was dead again so as it it 4 years old I bought another one, this was now flat two weeks ago today, jump started it but a week later flat again so took it off for another charge, will be off to the paper shop in a mo so could be back to square one again. All I do is one trip to Lidl and one to the newsagent on a Sunday, no more than 4 miles a week. If I had a drive I'd get a trickle charger.

Supersonos

Car_54 said:

Hunyani_Flight_825 said:

TomokoAdhami said:

Probably, retailers overcharging drivers by 2p-a-litre 

Why would you call it overcharging?  The filling station needs to make money and if sales are down ~50% then they will need to charge more to break even and make their margin.  Just basic economics.

Plus the price of oil is up just under $10 in the same period.

Don't basic economics say that if demand is down prices go down, to stimulate sales?

This is oil we're talking about.  As demand goes down, production is reduced in order to keep prices high.  

When economic times are also hard in the Arab states, like now, I would imagine they push the prices up even more.

203846930

TimSynths said:

AdrianC said:

TimSynths said:
I'm getting through car batteries more than fill ups! 

Have you considered buying a charger...?

I have one! used it first in April, took it off to charge for 24 hrs then a few weeks later it was dead again so as it it 4 years old I bought another one, this was now flat two weeks ago today, jump started it but a week later flat again so took it off for another charge, will be off to the paper shop in a mo so could be back to square one again. All I do is one trip to Lidl and one to the newsagent on a Sunday, no more than 4 miles a week. If I had a drive I'd get a trickle charger.

I suggest that you just walk to Lidl and for your Sunday paper and leave the battery on charge all the time until you actually need to use the car.

Flight3287462

Car_54 said:

Hunyani_Flight_825 said:

TomokoAdhami said:

Probably, retailers overcharging drivers by 2p-a-litre 

Why would you call it overcharging?  The filling station needs to make money and if sales are down ~50% then they will need to charge more to break even and make their margin.  Just basic economics.

Plus the price of oil is up just under $10 in the same period.

Don't basic economics say that if demand is down prices go down, to stimulate sales?

You miss the basic point, that if you sell below the price that the site breaks even then the business will cease to exist.

You are also talking about a market where the producers are deciding the price of oil and not the market.  The price of oil has been very carefully balanced by the Saudis and the Russians to make it uneconomic for the fracking boys to get involved.