Ron Ridyard, 22 December 2015
I NOTED on Monday, December 21, the oil price was $35 a barrel.
We filled up on Saturday, December 20, and paid $1.27/litre for our petrol.
In mid-2014 the oil price was about $110 a barrel and the fuel price was around $1.55/litre.
The drop of $1 a barrel of oil supposedly equals one cent/litre at the bowser.
So oil is about 60% cheaper than in 2014. So fuel should be around 60% cheaper at 52 cents/litre.
The Aussie Dollar was equal value in 2014 but is now 71 cents to $1 American. So if we add 29 cents to the cost of fuel now, it should be about 81 cents/litre.
Coles and Woolies are the major players in fuel costs and recent media reports indicate that 41 cents/litre goes in “mark-ups”.
Or should that be “rip-offs”?
There are obvious factors that I am not aware of in pricing but it is significant that the ICCC, NRMA, RACQ and others have not taken these rip-offs seriously, although it has been going on for years.
If motorists put 60 litres of fuel in their vehicle a week, they are paying $24 a week too much. Something needs to be done.
RON RIDYARD, Golden Beach
Extracted in full from the Sunshine Coast Daily.
