Reply to: This'll be a mess: Minimum buy to fight fuel panic

[AtW]

I liked BBC's explanation how raise in fuel prices ain't Gordon's faul.

First they show last year's price of 75p per liter, of which like 54p is tax, which ratio wise is 72%, then current price of 95p, and tax is 61p (due to extra Gordon gets via VAT), so ratio is 64%, fecking marvellous -- tax ratio even declined, how fking fktastic, innit?

If the tax on fuel was in line with the USA then people in this country would not have noticed bloody price raise -- from 20p to 35p.

The matter of fact is that Brown makes more tax revenues from fuel than planned as illustrated by the above calculation. He makes MORE than planned and expected so its reasonable he would cut the duty as world prices are not under UKs control. And with 75% tax actual base price does not matter much.

But he won't cut duty, beacause he now needs every penny and also he knows it would be hard to put duty back when fuel price falls (like it will anytime soon).

[BoredBloke]

On the radio yesterday they had a guy on from the petrol retailers association trying to calm the situation. The point he made about Brown is that in all this he is trying to blame everybody else. It is the fault of opec. It is the greedy oil companies. It is everybody’s fault except his. This was followed by a NL drone stating that a reduction in duty would cost 15 hospitals and 20,000 police.

[The Late, Great JC]

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum.

They do now...

Don't tell 'em your name Pike!

[The Late, Great JC]

We have a strategic reserve of 80 days.

Good job the terrorists don't know this...

[The Late, Great JC]

Typical British Public... Panic buying already!

FFS!

[hyperD]

Typical "new" Liebour spin. The Benevolent Clown won't get anywhere with this but the main point is that it looks like he's being proactive.

He cannot afford to reduce duty - too much deficit at stake. He's already fighting with the ONS to keep the £20b PFI money off the balance books as he reckons government spending is an "investment" and therefore not a liability.

[milanbenes]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...777852,00.html

this is what France is doing:

"In France companies are given a 1.5p rebate for every litre ",

this is what Belgium is doing:

"in Belgium the figure is 4.5p",

but Gordon the old prude has a better idea...


"The Chancellor will propose the five-point plan, discussed yesterday with representatives from 24 countries, at meetings of the G8, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank over the next two weeks.

The proposal involves: Opec raising supply to meet increased demand and opening its books to show where the world’s reserves are; the profits of oil-producing countries being ploughed back into investment; the World Bank setting up a fund to help developing countries to invest in alternative energy; and the IMF creating a new fund for poor countries hit by oil price shocks. ",



so there you have, Gordon's gonna get Opec to open their books, get oil producing companies to invest more and it's all going to happen in the next ten days so that you the consumer see cheaper prices at the pumps.

Milan.

[milanbenes]

from the same article, this is reassuring:

"Chris Hunt, the directorgeneral of the UK Petroleum Industry Association, said: “We are trying to run refineries flat out at the moment to meet the shortfalls caused by world demand. We have a strategic reserve of 80 days.”
"

Milan.

[milanbenes]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...777611,00.html

"The AA Motoring Trust said: “The problem with panic buying is that it destroys the whole finely balanced system between refineries, forecourts and cars. It creates an artificial shortage.” ",

this is interesting, finely balanced, or JUST IN TIME inventory management ?

I have often wondered if Just In Time inventory management across food and other industries won't become a sword in the back in the time of a crisis ?

Milan.

[AtW]

Got back an hour ago from a short drive to supermarket -- can't remember ever so many people queuing for petrol on monday night.

[datestamp]

Well if everybody drove around with only a quarter tank of fuel, and that half ton of cr@p removed from the boot, then they'd probably get another 10 mpg from their journeys anyway.

And the thought that they're low on fuel and that garages might fail them, would lead to another 15 mpg saving.

[threaded]

OwLHoot: I think you may be on to something there with "reduce the queues at the forecourts" that way the media won't be able to put pictures of massive queues on the TV.

[OwlHoot]

OwlHoot: But I thought most people only put in a £10 or £20 worth. Not many, apart from long distance commuters actually fill their tank. So these people will actually end up buying more petrol if they have to buy a minimum of £25 ...

You're right I guess - Decreasing the granularity of petrol purchases would only have a marginal effect keeping average tank levels down from the maximum (although there'll be a one-off dip anyway if everyone panics and fills their tank to start with).

I guess the reason is much more, if not entirely, to decrease the number of fill ups and thus congestion in petrol stations.

[Rebecca Loos]

I am glad I am not missing something very important. Must be slow news month this month as many papers are full of this silly topic. Frankly, who cares? Well, maybe it is important for people out in the countryside, beyond the M25 and zone 6, but there can't be that many of them, and they don't count much.

[planetit]

It’s all right Rebecca. Being a woman you don’t need to worry yourself about these things. Cars are too complex for women to understand, and current affairs is a subject you should just leave to the men.

Now run along and make us all a nice cup of tea. There’s a good girl.