Petrol pricing

[fenderbelly]

On Sunday morning i decided to go to the city for a few days, i knew i didn't have much fuel and as we don't have fuel in the the town i live in i stopped at the next town to fill up. $1.62 a litre. As it's a three hour drive i filled the tank.
As i got close to the city i see petrol $1.55 Per litre. When i get into the inner superbs it's as low as $1.42.

How do they justify 20c a litre difference.:((:((:((

[Twisted Tenon]

One word Fred "gouging" or government sanctioned daylight robbery:no:

TT


Thats's more than two I know......

[Master Splinter]

Nothing government sanctioned about it; it's just capitalism in action.

You'll pay more because there is no competition forcing the price down, and no-one else wants to set up a gas station in your area as it'd inevitably end up as a low margin, low turnover outlet.

As long as the price differential doesn't make it cheaper to drive XXkm to the next town with a gas station, it'll stay higher.

(I just paid $1.55 for 95 octane today; I'd love to be able to get inner Sydney prices, too!)

[Handyjack]

To put it politely, if you need it or want it, you will pay what the price is.

It is probably still cheaper and more convenient than running out of fuel when more than a fem minutes from a fuel station.

[Bushmiller]

(I just paid $1.55 for 95 octane today; I'd love to be able to get inner Sydney prices, too!)

Hmm....

I'd like to get standard unleaded for that price :(. But you are right about the economic laws of supply and demand.

Just occasionally we are cheaper than Brisbane, but not so often they all want to come and live here :wink:. There is also the phenomena where the price goes up and down through the week. That of course is market manipulation at it's most vigorous.

Regards
Paul

[Master Splinter]

The Australian wholesale price for petrol is mostly set by the price in Singapore and follows it pretty closely, but with a one to two week lag; the more volatile the price, the longer the lag.

Freight costs to country areas are typically four cents a litre more, and there can be double handling (port/tanker/regional depot/tanker/regional station rather than port/tanker/city station) which also adds to the cost. Regional stations may get a tanker a fortnight, while city stations can get a tanker a day.

But you should take it in a broader perspective - fuel might cost you more in the regions, BUT you're unlikely to get charged the same amount to park your car (in Canberra, that's between $8 and $12 a day; in Sydney CBD, $20-$60 + road tolls).

[rrich]

The simple answer is because they can.

The very complex answer is that what we learned in Economics 101 doesn't really relate to the real world.

As simply as possible:
If the market has the capacity to consume 1000
If the total supply for this market is 1100
And I control 200 of the supply

What I will do is keep 100 in reserve and raise the price on the 100 that I deliver to the market. The market is now completely satisfied in the supply vs. demand in the Economics 101 theory. What will happen is that everyone else that supplies the market will eventually raise their prices to match my prices because they see me selling to the last 10% of the market.

What our governments fail to recognize is that the oil market is a controlled and manipulated market. The lessons of Economics 101 theory that we all learned in college don't necessarily apply in this pseudo free market.

[Boringgeoff]

The servo owner where I live sets his price when he gets his tanks filled and leaves fuel at that set price until he needs another fill. Then the price may rise or fall depending on what he has to pay for the refill. Consequently his prices are sometimes lower than other towns and sometimes higher. The daily rise and fall of others is as TT said "gouging"

Geoff.

[BobL]

and wot about the Diesel underclass!!!

[Bob38S]

We keep getting told that it's all about competition - if you believe that, then the Easter bunny, Santa and the tooth fairy are real.

When we have so few competitors you you don't get competition you get retail price maintenance -deals done at levels we never see. Our government is not "hands clean" in this as it is totally in their interest to see the price high - don't forget the 38 cents tax and then the GST added on top for every litre.

If the government were really serious, we would go back to what we had in the late 60's when petrol went to 40 cents a gallon. The price was regulated and 1cent was added to the large city prices so that it covered all of the "extras". Then it didn't matter if you were in Mt Isa or Brisbane you paid the same.

Petrol is not a luxury in Australia, until we vastly improve public transport in quality, quantity and cost petrol is a necessity for all not living in the mega urbanised areas of this vast country. When I say petrol I am also including diesel and gas.

[Sebastiaan56]

Great explanation Rich. It's like being the winner in monopoly, 80 years down the track.

[Master Splinter]

But if you have 100 units sitting there in reserve, that's an unproductive asset - even assuming it's not costing anything to store those 100 units, the money you have tied up in them could be put to more economically productive use. Otherwise it's like having a rental house that's sitting vacant and you're not looking for tenants.

[fenderbelly]

well, i made the return trip home today.

Filled up at $141.5, handed in a shopper docket and got an extra 4 cents a litre off.
A case of swings and round abouts i think

[Bob38S]

Not wishing to be the wet blanket....but....check the maximum number of litres you can get for the shopper docket - X this by $0.04 - it ain't that much. I understand that something ( in this case) is better than nothing but think about how much extra you have paid at the supermarket to get it. The supermarket/ petrol/ alcohol conglomerate doesn't give $0.04 per litre for nothing.

The he only thing you get for nothing is nothing - with regards the supermarkets - somewhere, somehow, someone has to pay.

If the supermarket servos can sell it for $1.41 they won't be selling it at a loss so any price above that can only be interpreted as gouging and is a blatant rip off.

[Twisted Tenon]

The simple answer is because they can.

The very complex answer is that what we learned in Economics 101 doesn't really relate to the real world.

As simply as possible:
If the market has the capacity to consume 1000
If the total supply for this market is 1100
And I control 200 of the supply

What I will do is keep 100 in reserve and raise the price on the 100 that I deliver to the market. The market is now completely satisfied in the supply vs. demand in the Economics 101 theory. What will happen is that everyone else that supplies the market will eventually raise their prices to match my prices because they see me selling to the last 10% of the market.

What our governments fail to recognize is that the oil market is a controlled and manipulated market. The lessons of Economics 101 theory that we all learned in college don't necessarily apply in this pseudo free market.

Economics joins the long list of stuff I know just enough about to get me into trouble, but.... isn't this the law of Supply & Demand? by holding 100 in reserve you are in effect artificially manipulating the price. That is why I call it government sanctioned gouging. The Feds love the tax. I agree with rrich in that it is a "pseudo free market" We are buying a consumable which has a floating price set by a shadowy organiastion in Singapore. If woolworths did this for say a kilo of sugar there would be questions in the House. And as far as those petrol dockets go, I have a 60 Ltr tank and have yet to get enough to buy a cup of coffee with the discount.


TT

[Bushmiller]

The supermarket discount is nowhere as good as it once was.

Somebody will have to help me out as to what the cost of a litre of unleaded was when the 4c discount was introduced, but it was certainly less than $1.00. Let's say for the sake of simplicity it was 80c per litre. That represented a 5% discount. Today at around $1.60 per litre the same 4c is only 2% discount so I have to agree with the sentiment of Bob38S and Twisted Tenon that the incentive is no longer really there.

Regards
Paul

[Sturdee]

We keep getting told that it's all about competition - if you believe that, then the Easter bunny, Santa and the tooth fairy are real.



This morning unleaded petrol was 138.9 cents per litre in my area of Melbourne and this afternoon it was uniformly 159.6 cents a litre except for our local United servo which kept the old price.

And they call that competition. :? :~:~


Peter.

[Bob38S]

This morning unleaded petrol was 138.9 cents per litre in my area of Melbourne and this afternoon it was uniformly 159.6 cents a litre except for our local United servo which kept the old price.

And they call that competition. :? :~:~


Peter.

That sort of profiteering used to be regarded as criminal, now we are expected to regard it as normal. :no:

[fenderbelly]

Not wishing to be the wet blanket....but....check the maximum number of litres you can get for the shopper docket - X this by $0.04 - it ain't that much. I understand that something ( in this case) is better than nothing but think about how much extra you have paid at the supermarket to get it. The supermarket/ petrol/ alcohol conglomerate doesn't give $0.04 per litre for nothing.

The he only thing you get for nothing is nothing - with regards the supermarkets - somewhere, somehow, someone has to pay.

If the supermarket servos can sell it for $1.41 they won't be selling it at a loss so any price above that can only be interpreted as gouging and is a blatant rip off.

works different here
I can buy fuel anywhere on the peninsula and the supermarket gives me 4 cents a litre off

[Twisted Tenon]

works different here
I can buy fuel anywhere on the peninsula and the supermarket gives me 4 cents a litre off

Hi Fred
I just filled up with 57 litres @ $95.65. My 4c refund returned me $2.27. Not even a cup of coffee. :no:

TT

[Sturdee]

Not wishing to be the wet blanket....but....check the maximum number of litres you can get for the shopper docket -

Just checked both the Coles and Woolworth discount vouchers and the maximum on both is 150 litres per vehicle per docket.


Peter.

[doug3030]

This morning unleaded petrol was 138.9 cents per litre in my area of Melbourne and this afternoon it was uniformly 159.6 cents a litre except for our local United servo which kept the old price.

Last Saturday, I filled up my fuel tank, which took 121 litres (129 ltr capacity) three 20 ltr jerrycans and two 5 ltr fuel tins. this came to 193 litres. (You can get more than 20 ltrs into a 20 ltr jerrycan). The price on Saturday was $1.347 c/ltr for a total cost of $260 give or take a few cents.

After some driving around Melbourne, I stayed the night with a friend on the other side of town. I got up on Sunday morning and started doing some more running around, some of which involved using about a cupful of petrol in my chainsaw to harvest some fallen timber from Tea Lady's place. The first petrol station I saw that day was showing a price of $1.347 per litre, but soon after that all the servo's I passed were displaying prices around $1.599 c/ltr. total cost of 193 ltrs on Sunday was now $308.60.

I saved $48 or thereabouts by buying the petrol on Saturday compared to the price it was on Sunday.

Then as I was on my way home Sunday evening, having seen nothing below $1.589, I droive past our closest servo to home. I rarely go there because they are not often cheap, but they are often the last one to get the email when the price goes up, and then I go there (and so does half the population of Hoppers Crossing). They were still selling at $1.379, so I queued up for just under 10 minutes and filled the tank up with just over 50 litres, or approximately a $10 saving over the going price everywhere else.

Since filling up, all the driving I have done is to the train station and back, less than 20 km, so I have effectively got a full tank, three jerrycans and two 5 ltr fuel cans full. I think I can weather out the current high prices and wait until petrol is cheap before filling up again. I do not often pay more than $1.39/ltr and usually a few cents less.

cheers

Doug

[chambezio]

Come and live in the bush. Come and live 30km out of town. School bus is the only public transport available owning your own transport is a must and fundamental. Cost of Diesel in Tamworth.....around $1.70 per bloody litre!!! Yes I do have a choice, live closer to town and don't drive unless you need to. I fail to see why the big capital cities pay less per litre than the country towns do, when public transport is readily available and that the great powers that be don't want the city streets choked with privately owned cars.


After those remarks I am going to slink back into my hole and wait for the barrage :C

[Twisted Tenon]

Come and live in the bush. Come and live 30km out of town. School bus is the only public transport available owning your own transport is a must and fundamental. Cost of Diesel in Tamworth.....around $1.70 per bloody litre!!! Yes I do have a choice, live closer to town and don't drive unless you need to. I fail to see why the big capital cities pay less per litre than the country towns do, when public transport is readily available and that the great powers that be don't want the city streets choked with privately owned cars.


After those remarks I am going to slink back into my hole and wait for the barrage :C
No barrage from me. There is a conspiracy of sorts and this (http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/joe-hockeys-fuel-tax-pitch-hits-a-roadblock-20140813-103ooe.html) type of comment doesn't help. The way we are charged for our fuel is a callus disregard for fair play.

TT

[Robson Valley]

At present, we have just one gas station in the village.
They were told by the company to _always_ add $ 0.05 to the city price.
A second station is under construction, that should help the hapless travellers.

I use the industrial cardlock used by the truckers. Just back from the city
where I saw 1.24.9/liter. I know that I pay less than that at the CL and I get dividend $$
each year.
My 454/7.6l GMC Suburban has a 180+ liter tank. Commonly a $200 fill.

[chambezio]

Joe Hockey's feeble excuse saying that poorer people don't travel much so the fuel is dearer because its only higher income people who use their own vehicles.
About 10-15 years ago some hotshot came up from Sydney to find out why petrol prices in Tamworth was higher than the towns 100km away. I can't remember who he was or who he was representing but he was quoted in the local rag and interviewed on the radio........never heard a word from his investigations.
You here the service stations saying that there is no money in fuel, so who is getting the money?

[BobL]

Has anyone heard of the proposed "Petroleum (Consolidation) Regulations 2014"
As described here http://sres-australia.com.au/introduction-of-new-petroleum-regulations/

The link goes to a UK document.

What exactly are the current regs about petrol storage in Oz?

[dabbler]

Tamworth fuel prices are dearer than those nearby towns for the same reason accommodation is more expensive there. It is a natural overnight stoping point for Syd to Bris travellers, it’s a regional centre of some size plus it is a university/boarding school town.

Rockhampton fits much the same description and suffers the same issues.

That’s my theory anyway.

[Christos]

Even thou I work five days a week I do a lot of traveling for other things. So I have to drive to almost everywhere. I am not happy paying such a large amount on fuel but it is something that I have to bear for the moment.

In time fuel will stabilize as we move away from petrol. Yes it will happen just not expecting it to be in my lifetime.




We keep getting told that it's all about competition - if you believe that, then the Easter bunny, Santa and the tooth fairy are real. .....

If only they were real. We could raise another guardian. :D

[Twisted Tenon]

In time fuel will stabilize as we move away from petrol. Yes it will happen just not expecting it to be in my lifetime.

It will happen Christos when the people controlling the worlds oil have cornered the market on the "new" super fuel. Even if it is water, it will cost the same as petrol :no:

That is monopoly economics.

TT

[Master Splinter]

Interestingly, the average NSW regional price for petrol is still cheaper than the average Canberra price, and we get less variation in pricing, too...

http://www.aip.com.au/pricing/retail/ulp/nsw.htm#canberra

[rrich]

We have a couple of options. The supermarket thing is, as stated above, virtually worthless. We became members of COSTCO mainly for the fuel benefit. We must use an American Express card to pay for fuel. Typically COSTCO fuel (Petrol or Gasoline) is three to six cents cheaper per almost 4 litres than elsewhere. The AMEX card gives a 3% or 4% rebate on fuel purchases.

Currently the general price is $3.65 and with the rebate the cost is about $3.54. Outrageous but with the policies of Governor Moonbeam and some of the tree huggers we're still about $0.30 more expensive than neighboring states.

I guess that you blokes have your own "Moonbeams".

[Twisted Tenon]

We have a couple of options. The supermarket thing is, as stated above, virtually worthless. We became members of COSTCO mainly for the fuel benefit. We must use an American Express card to pay for fuel. Typically COSTCO fuel (Petrol or Gasoline) is three to six cents cheaper per almost 4 litres than elsewhere. The AMEX card gives a 3% or 4% rebate on fuel purchases.

Currently the general price is $3.65 and with the rebate the cost is about $3.54. Outrageous but with the policies of Governor Moonbeam and some of the tree huggers we're still about $0.30 more expensive than neighboring states.

I guess that you blokes have your own "Moonbeams".

I'm not sure our high cost of fuel here is down to the Greenies Rich. It seems to me that it is just too easy a bucket of money for our pollies to grab. The latest buzz words used here are "price signals". Just been reading up on the situation you have in California (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-14/california-lawmakers-approve-7-5-billion-water-spending.html), things are looking grim for you guys too :no:

TT

[Master Splinter]

We're the fourth cheapest county in the OECD for petrol, beaten only by Mexico, US and Canada. Sixth cheapest for diesel.

http://www.aip.com.au/pricing/internationalprices.htm

[Twisted Tenon]

We're the fourth cheapest county in the OECD for petrol, beaten only by Mexico, US and Canada. Sixth cheapest for diesel.

http://www.aip.com.au/pricing/internationalprices.htm

There's graphs and then there are graphs. This one (http://www.globalpetrolprices.com/gasoline_prices/) shows a similar trend but has more countries added. We are 88 cheapest on this scale. Click onto the names in the list to see a breakdown of that country over the past quarter. It's obvious that the countries with the really cheap petrol are the oil producers and so it is reasonable to suggest their fuel is heavily subsidised. According to Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_oil_production) Australia is number 31 of the worlds oil producing countries.

TT

[Master Splinter]

True, but I'm not sure if I'd like to drive in Libya or Syria or many of the other places in that list at the moment...I'd be worried that I'd get back to my car and find it (and possibly myself) airconditioned by the AK-47 termite, or that a flat tyre wouldn't be from a gyproc screw but caused by 'device, improvised, explosive'.

However, some of those countries do discourage or outright ban women drivers, so there could be a bright side! :roll: (ducks).

[Twisted Tenon]

True, but I'm not sure if I'd like to drive in Libya or Syria or many of the other places in that list at the moment...I'd be worried that I'd get back to my car and find it (and possibly myself) airconditioned by the AK-47 termite, or that a flat tyre wouldn't be from a gyproc screw but caused by 'device, improvised, explosive'.

However, some of those countries do discourage or outright ban women drivers, so there could be a bright side! :roll: (ducks).

I'd duck too :D

You're right about this though - we're lucky to live in a peaceful country, and even though there are looming social justice problems, it's nothing like what the Mid East is going through.

TT

[rrich]

True, but I'm not sure if I'd like to drive in Libya or Syria or many of the other places in that list at the moment...I'd be worried that I'd get back to my car and find it (and possibly myself) airconditioned by the AK-47 termite, or that a flat tyre wouldn't be from a gyproc screw but caused by 'device, improvised, explosive'.

However, some of those countries do discourage or outright ban women drivers, so there could be a bright side! :roll: (ducks).

I'll have to duck also however something that happened here gives forth another theory.

In the mid to late 1970s we had a huge influx of refugees. Almost all of these people never really learned the concept of an automobile during their youth. These people, generally speaking, are less adept at operating a motor vehicle. What is worse is that they are teaching their children how to drive.

As I watched my kids growing up and playing with their Hot Wheels on the floor they seemed to learn the automobile concept.

As we and our parents have stereotyped boys and girls, the girls were less likely to be pushing Hot Wheels around on the floor. Also, when we travel as a couple, it is most likely that the male will drive. Thus with stereotyping and less opportunity to gain skills we tend to feel that women are not as adept at driving as males are. Usually by the time a woman reaches her middle 30s in age, there is no real difference in her driving skills than the average male.

However, two boys, 43 and 45; let me say that you can't fix stupid. One has got it and the other probably never will.

[Boringgeoff]

Yesterday the price of ULP was 141.9 c/L when I filled my car. The price at this outlet always ends with .9 but with the recent rise in excise of .5 of a cent shouldn't the fuel price now finish with .4? The outlet are either, A) discounting the price by .5 or, B) picking up an extra half a cent/L.
Am I missing something here or just a bit thick?

Geoff.

[Evanism]

Its not the market thats broken, its government.

A$0.38143 of every litre is taxes - PLUS 10% GST. 38 cents.

Don't forget, this is AFTER you have paid your 33 to 49% nominal personal tax rate AND after your business/boss has paid its fees, levies, charges, tariffs, duties, tolls, exises, licences and state/local/federal gougings.

Hehe. There is also the 2% medicare levy that comes right off the top first.

Add it all up.

How much, do you think, after just a single round of taxes you get out of that $100 you "earn"?

Boiled frogs.

[Bob38S]

Of course the good hearted, generous oil company is absorbing the 0.5 of a cent :no:

Sorry, I had to write this down and may print it on a card for future conversations - had to write it because I couldn't say it because my tongue was pressed too far in my cheek.

[artme]

Two points, one cent each, therefore my 2c worth:

The price of Tapis, on which our domestic price is based, has fallen markedly. The price of fuel in this country has remained static.

To say that this country has cheaper fuel than that is not really a fair comparison. We should look at the disposable income level of the people buying fuel and then see how cheap or dear things really are.

[Big Shed]

Two points, one cent each, therefore my 2c worth:

The price of Tapis, on which our domestic price is based, has fallen markedly. The price of fuel in this country has remained static.

To say that this country has cheaper fuel than that is not really a fair comparison. We should look at the disposable income level of the people buying fuel and then see how cheap or dear things really are.

These graphs say otherwise, I know that where I live (country Victoria), both petrol and diesel have seen substantial falls over the last few months.

http://www.aip.com.au/pricing/marketwatch.htm

[artme]

These graphs say otherwise, I know that where I live (country Victoria), both petrol and diesel have seen substantial falls over the last few months.

http://www.aip.com.au/pricing/marketwatch.htm

I based my statement on Graphs presented by Allan Kohler on the finance part of the ABC news.

Keeping an Eye on prices here shows that they have remained pretty well static. Any fall certainly has not been the equivalent of the fall in Tapis prices.

I think with the falling dollar prices will invariably rise.

Interesting to see that the big oil producers have upped their output and forced prices down in an attempt to drive cheaper energy suppliers from the market. Good old free market!!!!

[Big Shed]

Can you give me a link to Alan Kohlers' graphs Arthur?

[Robson Valley]

It will be most interesting to see how the oil pricing plays out where I am. The US fracking activity has dramatically
pushed up available oil. I'm told that Middle East production won't be slowing soon. My price per liter has been falling steadily from
maybe $1.38 - 1.44 a year ago to about $1.22. I have to guess because I use a commercial cardlock with volume, not price.
Today, I took on just over 135 liters and at -10C with wind, nearly froze my buns off. That price difference turns out to mean a lot.
The thirsty pig is a 454cid/7.6l engine in a GMC Suburban 4x4. Full fill might be 190+l.

[SawDustSniffer]

in Darwin we are paying $1.70 a lt ,
we are closer to Singapore than east coast citys

Darwin has no independent service stations , only the big 3 United , Caltex and BP , and petrol prices stay fixed for the week ( no discount cycle )
Katherine has one independent service station and have fuel costs 20 cents per lt less than Darwin

so 300km south of a capital , petrol prices are cheaper ??????

WE ARE GETTING RIPPED OFF

United was regularly 3c cheaper than coles or woolies , now United accepts any shopper docket offer , they are the same price ????

[Bushmiller]

I hate to say it, but the fuel companies charge whatever the market will stand. It is pretty much like that everywhere.

It is the same reason online downloads tend to be more expensive in Australia than some other countries. Large companies including multi nationals rarely turn around and say,

"Look, we are making a royal profit on this product but we can put it on the market much cheaper. Just so we can assist you so we are going to do just that." :no:

As other have pointed out, in the case of fuel a high proportion of the purchase price goes in taxes both direct and indirect.

Regards
Paul

[artme]

Can you give me a link to Alan Kohlers' graphs Arthur?

Sorry Fred but I simply saw it while watching the ABC news.Can't even remember what night!

[kiwigeo]

Two things have always intrigued me:

1. What do people use as the basis for deciding whether or not petrol is "expensive" or "cheap".
2. You hear everybody moaning about paying $1.30 for a litre of petrol but the same people happily pay twice that for a litre of bottled water. Petrol is the end product of a long process that starts with oil exploration and ends with extensive processing of crude oil. Bottled water.....well it's more or less straight out of the ground and straight into a bottle.....nowhere near the amount of processing that oil goes through to end up as petrol at the pump.

[Bushmiller]

Two things have always intrigued me:

1. What do people use as the basis for deciding whether or not petrol is "expensive" or "cheap".
2. You hear everybody moaning about paying $1.30 for a litre of petrol but the same people happily pay twice that for a litre of bottled water. Petrol is the end product of a long process that starts with oil exploration and ends with extensive processing of crude oil. Bottled water.....well it's more or less straight out of the ground and straight into a bottle.....nowhere near the amount of processing that oil goes through to end up as petrol at the pump.

Ooooh! I think the lads are fired up enough about fuel: Don't get them started on bottled water :rolleyes:. We'll never hear the end of it.

I have bought more fuel than I care to think about. I have never bought bottled water. Why do you think the same people who buy fuel buy bottle water? Also, where can I buy fuel for $1.30. I recently tyravelled to the Blue Mountains for one of the Forums GTGs. The cheapest I saw was $1.33 up at Katoomba. Most places in Sydney were close to 10c above that and back home it is somewhere between $1.50 and $1.60.

I still haven't bought any bottled water at any price, but do take my own in a vacuum flask to keep it cool.

Regards
Paul

[kiwigeo]

Ooooh! I think the lads are fired up enough about fuel: Don't get them started on bottled water :rolleyes:. We'll never hear the end of it.

I have bought more fuel than I care to think about. I have never bought bottled water. Why do you think the same people who buy fuel buy bottle water? Also, where can I buy fuel for $1.30. I recently tyravelled to the Blue Mountains for one of the Forums GTGs. The cheapest I saw was $1.33 up at Katoomba. Most places in Sydney were close to 10c above that and back home it is somewhere between $1.50 and $1.60.

I still haven't bought any bottled water at any price, but do take my own in a vacuum flask to keep it cool.

Regards
Paul

1. Petrol got down to around (or even below) $1.30 a litre a few weeks back here in Adelaide. My point was it doesn't matter how low it gets people still think it's "too expensive" and my question is exactly what price do people consider a fair price for petrol and on what criteria would they base this price?
2. Anyone who owns a vehicle buys fuel....there'd be a significant proportion of those people who also buy bottled water. Ive heard a lot of discussion about the price of petrol but I cant recall the last time I heard anyone remarking on the exorbitant price of bottled water.

[Twisted Tenon]

Two things have always intrigued me:

1. What do people use as the basis for deciding whether or not petrol is "expensive" or "cheap".
2. You hear everybody moaning about paying $1.30 for a litre of petrol but the same people happily pay twice that for a litre of bottled water. Petrol is the end product of a long process that starts with oil exploration and ends with extensive processing of crude oil. Bottled water.....well it's more or less straight out of the ground and straight into a bottle.....nowhere near the amount of processing that oil goes through to end up as petrol at the pump.

No mystery here Kiwi, both are rip offs and both are the biggest con to hit Australia since The Bottom of the Harbour scheme :D

TT

[Big Shed]

Sorry Fred but I simply saw it while watching the ABC news.Can't even remember what night!

Thanks Arthur, thought it may have been on the ABC website, I do like Alan Kohlers' graphs, in fact many (most?) times his is the only bit of the news that I enjoy watching.:rolleyes:

Oh and Kiwigeo, fuel and bottled water, one (water) is a discretionary item, the other (fuel) isn't. Bottled water is sold by many companies and varies very widely in price. Fuel is sold by only a few (very large) companies that behave like a cartel no matter what any ACCC says.

I have dealt with oil companies all through my working life, not just for fuel, and I know first hand how they regard their customers.
I have however never worked in the oil industry so I am an outsider looking in.

[Big Shed]

Hi Arthur,

Alan Kohler showed a graph of TAPIS crude price vs petrol price in Oz and the petrol price followed the TAPIS crude very closely.

He also stated that fuel price had fallen 20% and would fall further.

I find his graphs usually very interesting as is his presentation on financial matters, always factual with a bit of dry humour (sadly lacking in the rest of the news bulletin:rolleyes:)

[Evanism]

$1.69 yeasterday at the pump at the local yesterday.

Price drops? My ass.

Everyone knows the answer is use less, make efficient consolidated trips and go light on the accelerator.

What I keep reminding myself of, constantly, is we are all whinging about this while in our nice houses, fancy cars, good food, stable government and low unemployment and local mega-shops with $6 shoes.

Imagine what it's like to the billions who scratch out a subsistence living, peons, peasants or live in countries with no health care.

Paying $1.50 a litre for a single litre of petrol must be a decision between transport or eating.

[Big Shed]

$1.69 yeasterday at the pump at the local yesterday.

Price drops? My ass.

Everyone knows the answer is use less, make efficient consolidated trips and go light on the accelerator.

What I keep reminding myself of, constantly, is we are all whinging about this while in our nice houses, fancy cars, good food, stable government and low unemployment and local mega-shops with $6 shoes.

Imagine what it's like to the billions who scratch out a subsistence living, peons, peasants or live in countries with no health care.

Paying $1.50 a litre for a single litre of petrol must be a decision between transport or eating.

Well Evan, I don't know what your posterior has to do with the price of petrol:p, but this morning in downtown Bendigo petrol was selling for between $1.33 and $1.36, before any fuel docket discounts.
I only buy petrol for my lawnmower and chainsaw as one car is on LPG and the other is a diesel.
Not that long ago I was paying around $1.69 for diesel, now $1.419. I was paying low 90s for LPG, now $0.659 (in Melbourne $0.619).

So yes, there have been substantial price drops, whether those price drops equal the TAPIS crude drop I don't know, but according to the graph that Alan Kohler showed they do (almost).

If you are paying those sort of prices in Das Kapital that is obviously some sort of premium you are expected to pay for all the other subsidies that other Australians are paying for keeping Das Kapital afloat.:D

[Sturdee]

but this morning in downtown Bendigo petrol was selling for between $1.33 and $1.36, before any fuel docket discounts.


You're being ripped of Fred. Thursday I filled up one car at $1.27.7 before discounts. :D

I saw today it was a bit cheaper still.


Peter.

[Big Shed]

You're being ripped of Fred. Thursday I filled up one car at $1.27.7 before discounts. :D

I saw today it was a bit cheaper still.


Peter.

Yes, that's the price for living in paradise Peter:D

[snowyskiesau]

The price in this part of paradise is $1.50 for diesel.
It hurts to fill up the 75 litre tank on the van :C

[Big Shed]

The price in this part of paradise is $1.50 for diesel.
It hurts to fill up the 75 litre tank on the van :C

Yeah, but your full tank will take you around your paradise a couple of times.:D

[Bob38S]

Maryborough Qld, of course, not the "other" one, ULP 91 - $1.39.9 before discount - this afternoon.

[kiwigeo]

Oh and Kiwigeo, fuel and bottled water, one (water) is a discretionary item, the other (fuel) isn't. Bottled water is sold by many companies and varies very widely in price. Fuel is sold by only a few (very large) companies that behave like a cartel no matter what any ACCC says.

.

Doesn't matter what you class bottled water as......it's a product who's price doesn't at all reflect the costs of finding the stuff and getting it into a bottle and to the market.

[doug3030]

in Darwin we are paying $1.70 a lt ,
we are closer to Singapore than east coast citys

Darwin - Singapore 3353km

Darwin - Melbourne 3140km

Darwin - Sydney 3145km

Darwin - Brisbane 2850km

These are from straight-line flight data

Of course there is always:

Darwin - Hobart 3739km but its really a south-coast city on an island so it hardly counts

[Big Shed]

Isn't competition a wonderful thing?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-11/price-of-petrol-in-canberra-drops-as-competition-increases/5960346

[spokeshave]

The exact same thing happened here in Wodonga.

All of the big chain petrol stations had unleaded at around $1.49 per litre.

A new Apco opened up selling at $1.29 per litre. That afternoon the big chains dropped their prices to match.

Every station in town had the prices up, so it wasn't just a matter of finding the cheapest place. Now they are all down matching the Apco.

Not surprising the Apco was doing a roaring trade!!!