Oil prices spiraling out of control!

eggwheat

They are spiraling out of control now...I was quoted 57.5p per litre today..That's £304 for 500 litres! Its gone up another £40 per 500L in one week! It looks like I will not be filling my tank for a long while! I paid £225 for 500 litres only 2 and a bit months ago...to think I used to pay £110 for 1000 litres when I first moved here...I used to think oil was amazing, the cheapest.. Not now..when will it end? This is ridiculous!

I think we are in for a massive economic collapse...I really do.

leedsfan_3

Oil prices are a symptomn of the weakning economy. The reason why you are seeing oil prices seemingly rocket is mainly due to the fact that the pound has fallen over 18% in value against the euro in the last 15 months. Now that by any measurement is a massively devalued currency and of course, the less value the pound has, the less buying power it has. This country is in serious serious trouble, if we were to measure recession in a genuine way, without trying to exclude or cut corners on price increases, you would see that we are already suffering hyper inflation which again is a symptomn of the pounds fall from grace. Investors are pulling their money out, people are up to their eyeballs in debt, balance of payments continues to rise because we are so heavily reliant upon importing and all of which is leading to the pound suffering. We are heading into a deep deep recession and numerous articles are now commentating on the fact that America is heading into a depression. My only advice is do not spend unnecessarily, things are going to get very rough in the coming year or 2.

This is a big element to it (the oil prices) there is also the matter of the continued threats against Iran, Turkish troops in Northern Iraq etc all of which are creating deep uncertainty in the market. What you have to remember is the market is not just looking at the here and now, it is looking at further down the line. What this does of course, is trigger a panic within the market and thus organically the price is driven further and further upwards. I know that the media likes to use the alternative line of demand outstripping supply but it's clear that these 2 issues are more burning issues when it comes to price.

eggwheat

I totally agree..I'm selling everything I don't need to pay off all my debts..I've switched to a much smaller car ie 60mpg+ and 'm now seriously looking at solar power to see if it really is viable..I don't want to be at the mercy of the oil giants any more.

I think we all need to get ready for it.

silverbullit

I'm surprised you doom-mongers haven't slit your wrists yet!

tomstickland

Planning ahead isn't being a doom-monger.

leedsfan_3

Exactly Tom, it's important to know what might be around the corner and let's hope that what the next few years are not as rough as what they threaten. All I am saying is you should plan for that eventuality because there is a likelihood of it.

moonrakerz

leedsfan wrote: »

The reason why you are seeing oil prices seemingly rocket is mainly due to the fact that the pound has fallen over 18% in value against the euro in the last 15 months.

Oil is priced in $US, the strength of the Euro has nothing to do with it.

Gasoline has risen from the start of the year from:

$2.39 per US gal to $2.69 now
Heating oil has risen from

$2.59 per US gal to $3.17 now

ie: Heating oil is now 48c more than gas than at the start of the year when it was 20c more. This is probably due to increased demand over the winter - no more.
As you correctly say the price of oil generally is being driven up by a wide range of factors; increased demand, political factors and plain old-fashioned speculation !
But not the strength of the Euro, that might make fuel a bit cheaper in the Euro zone, because they can buy more dollars for the Euro, but it won't effect UK prices