annqldau

On the one hand we have the Australian claiming victory and on the other Courier Mail saying we are still being ripped off...

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...9-1702,00.html

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...71-952,00.html

I'm sure the price of oil doesn't go up in the middle of the week every week so the big petrol companies must profiteer all the time.

Plus have you noticed the price of petrol goes up the minute the oil price changes but always takes days/weeks to drop so technically must constantly be over priced.

Wol

What gets me is the bovine attitude that just accepts the weekend price hike as a normal and necessary part of life.

OzTennis

I'm not condoning this practice but:

Point me to where it says (in the UK or Australia) that prices cannot be changed - seasonally, weekly or whatever - by a business.

If you know how it works you adapt - i.e. if it can be helped you don't buy your fuel close to/at the weekend. Alternatively you view the weekend price as normal and the mid-week price as discounted.

Remember that Australia's weekend fuel price is at a guess 60% of the rarely changing price in the UK where fuel tax takes up nearly 3/4 of the pump price.

I'm not sure about accepting it, is it more that you can't do anything about it? For example, in the UK the current ongoing rip off is about gas and electricity prices. When the wholesale price of fuel went up drastically all the companies put up their prices. Wholesale prices have plummeted and guess what - they haven't cut retail prices but the regulatory body is currently investigating. It's a bit crass to say I have a bovine attitude in accepting this practice by my provider isn't it?

OzTennis

NKSK version 2

I've thought a lot about this.

The trouble with the price cycle is that oil companies can quote the lowest point of the cycle to show how generous they are being and we all forget to mention that this only occurs for one or two days. It also allows a fudging of the debate - "yes it is expensive - so buy at the lowest point of the cycle"

If the cycle is allowed to exist then the price of unleaded being dicussed and publicised should be the average price for the week - taking into account how many days the price as been at $x, $y and $z.

Wol

What I mean is that it seems to be accepted that the price of petrol automatically goes up each weekend and down again on Tuesday when everyone has had to fill up again after their days out. If this was a natural law it would be the same everywhere, but it's only in Oz that it's seen as normal.

northerner

True. But please remember petrol costs the equivelant of about 40p a litre in Oz at the moment...

I think it's very odd that petrol prices fluctuate so much over here, but that's about it - just odd.

Graham

NKSK version 2

yes - but see my post above - it costs 40p per litre when it's at the low end of the cycle - and this is the figure we quote when we like to convince ourselves that we are on to a good thing. But what is the weekly average?

OzTennis

I agree but my point is what can be done about it? Nothing as the law currently stands so I say, as you can't do anything about it then it has to be accepted and it becomes 'normal'.

The oil companies would probably say, in order to maintain their profits and satisfy their shareholders, that if prices were not allowed to be changed by law then they would set the price higher. Perhaps the 'weekend' price would become the all week price and the mid-week purchasers would be complaining.

Alternatively, without government compulsion, it would require one of the major oil companies to change their practice so as to gain a competitive advantage. Thus far, no one has broken ranks. In the UK Tesco, Asda etc all sell at the same price and they follow each other. Asda broke ranks a fortnight ago and dropped the price of unleaded by 2p per litre (incidentally they had all kept their prices up by more than they should have in response to the big fall in world crude and were being accused of 'profiteering', like the gas and electricity companies). Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrison's all followed the same day. It is being dressed up as further supermarket price cuts but its passing on part of the fall in world crude prices in reality.

OzTennis

DrWho

Something odd going on at the moment anyway... $103.7 with the 4c discount today up the Northern Beaches and that's the lowest I've seen it for some time... And Friday it's usually through the roof...

wintersgills

i still giggle when i fill up cos its so cheep i dont no how you can complain its a quid a litre in the uk we saving a fortune

Wendy

That's two of us

We fill up $50 every 10 to 14 days. Can't say I'm too bothered about it all really $1.09 a our woolies today

Vin 'n Bin

We heard on the news today that petrol stations have agreed to comply with recommendations by the ACCC and reduce the price of peterol by 10 cents a litre by the end of next week

northerner

43p?

northerner

Can I just add as well (not having a go at the OP or anyone else by the way) that I think if you want to moan about something in Australia, the price of petrol is not it.

Graham

annqldau

If as the petrol companies say, the price of petrol is related to the price of oil, prices should stay a standard amount above the oil price at nearly all times and rise and fall immediately with the oil price fluctuations and not up on weekends and holidays and down on Tuesdays.

Both the Aussies and the Brits are very complacent when it comes to petrol prices, could you see the French putting up with price changes like this.