National petrol prices fall
The average household is paying $215 a month for petrol. (ABC: Graeme Powell)
National petrol prices have experienced their biggest weekly fall since records started being kept four years ago.
Last week prices dropped by six cents to 153.5 cents per litre.
CommSec's chief economist Craig James says the average household is paying nearly $215 a month for petrol, which is $15 less than a fortnight ago.
The price of oil has dropped by $US25 in the past fortnight but Mr James says it appears oil companies have not passed that on in full.
"We would have expected that the fall would have been even bigger, as much as 10 or 12 cents, and there is evidence that oil companies and service stations are dragging their heels on cutting prices," he said.
"The oil companies have certainly got a lot of catching up to do."
Monday, August 4, 2008
Peak Oil?
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Ouch! I am so thankful for our relatively short and mild winters. Today was a classic- we started with a frost but it turned into a splendid mild day with no breeze and plenty of sunshine.We've just switched from wood to bottled gas at home. It doesn't cost any more than buying firewood. Margaret doesn't have to go out into the cold in the middle of the night and I don't have to split logs.I think our total heating for our home will be about $400 for the whole of winter.
ReplyDeleteGood to see them falling. I feel really sorry for the people who have to use oil to heat their homes. I heard a lady on the radio yesterday talking about her heating bill reaching over $700. per month.
ReplyDeleteThat's excellent! We have bottled gas for the stove and dryer. It took some getting used to from electric, the gas dryer was much hotter and melted some of the synthetic clothes, but once I turned the heat to 'delicate', it was fine.
ReplyDeleteWe use solar and wind power for our clothes dryer. On some days the dryer even gives the clothes a final rinse in pure rain water :D
ReplyDeleteMajor petroleum products are traded as commodities in their own right. This means the price is like share prices - a compromise of what buyers and sellers are willing to agree on. The buyers are aware of the price of crude, but it's not what they're actually buying.Australian petrol is related to the Singapore gate price of 95RON. While the that price hasn't come down in a hurry, refineries will be making much better profits, but it's the buyers and investment-traders that determine the price by their willingness to pay it. Should enough of them find the courage to say "not at that price" then it would come down - though buyers' own dwindling stocks increase risk in the meantime.
ReplyDeleteThen you have to factor into the equation that petrol retailing is controlled by an oligopoly with frequent allegations of collusion in setting retail prices.
ReplyDelete:lol: Solar and wind :lol: Me too, except now that we are in the rainy season. It rains daily, so unless I'm going to be home all day, it has to go into the dryer.
ReplyDeleteRainy season- luxury! That's why God gave us verandas Lois. :)
ReplyDeleteTrue, but the rain blows in one end of the veranda and out the other - everything including the cat is soaked! :lol: Right now, I have some of Arthur's shirts and hats hanging on chairs in the hallway!
ReplyDeleteGosh- you have some wild weather Lois! :)
ReplyDeleteWe do, but only in the summer months. It keeps us on our toes!
ReplyDeleteWe had a storm once!Just kidding- we get some severe storms in summer here also.I remember when we first moved to the country from the city. We lived in a town called Hay which is quite remote and a fairly dry area- it takes 7 acres to support one sheep there. Anyway one Sunday one of the farmers told me he had been up all night watching for lightning. I thought he must just like watching storms, but he went on to say that because the grass is so dry there, it's the lightning strikes that start the bush fires.That was just the first of our rapid learning about the different perspectives of people in the bush to those in the city.
ReplyDeleteWOW! 7 acres to support one sheep! That's a lot of area!We get brush fires from the lightning here too, usually in the spring when the grass is still pretty dry.
ReplyDeleteFeed is pretty sparse when you only get 13 inches of rain per year on average. It's almost desert country.
ReplyDelete