why are petrol prices going up? Besides the fact that there is instability in the middle east?

Question

Not in america. In the international market, over the last decade or so.

Answer 1

1 - Decreased supply of oil left in the world

2 - Increasing demand from China and India

3 - Gasoline stocks in the US have fallen to near record lows

(Shows that as prices rise, we don't drive less. When there is a shortage and prices rise, it takes someone not buying gas until the supply is enough for prices to fall. The problem is nobody wants to be the first to give up their car. How much would gas have to be at the pump for you to stop driving all together? See the problem?)

4 - Refinery maintenance typical this time of year, to prepare for peak driving season, creating outages and a tightening of refinery capacity.

5 - Tension in Nigeria, and concerns oil supply will be disrupted.

6 - Hedge fund and commodity traders on the NYMEX put a "premium" on Light Sweet Crude Oil and RBOB Gasoline when there is a potential for disaster to the oil distribution market. And because of the instability in Iraq and tension with Iran and the whole middle east, there is a "risk premium" we all pay at the pump.

7 - Further "risk premium" paid in concern over the upcoming hurricane season. Sub tropical storm Andrea this year was the earliest tropical storm on record. There is concern that global warming will cause a distaster to the gulf of mexico again like with Katrina in 2005.

You now understand 90% of what's going on at the pump.

Answer 2

If by petrol you mean what we call gasoline, the answer is simple. There is simply not enough refining capacity to produce enough gasoline to meet the growing world wide demand.

I realize that the demand in Europe is flat, or may actually be falling due to the wide spread dieselization of the automobile fleet, but the gasoline produced by EU refineries is sold into the world market, where the overall demand is increasing. Thus, even in Europe, gasoline prices are increasing.

The answer is to either:

1) reduce the overall GLOBAL demand for gasoline

2) Increase the overall GLOBAL supply of gasoline

or even better, do both.

Answer 3

the oil companies have a bad habit of keeping prices down from Monday to Wednesday and then putting the prices up from about 8.30 in the morning on Thursday because they know that a lot of people are getting paid and also the weekend is just around the corner. The price of petrol also affect by what price the oil is a barrel. when the price of oil is down the prices should go down, and when the price of oil is up then the petrol prices go up.

Answer 4

nicely, on condition that Iraq isn't even on the edge of finished production of it is oil, and that they are the 2d or third greatest producer interior the international, they are having a dramatic effect on oil. If Iraq have been are finished production of it is oil individuals may be paying approximately $one million.25 for gasoline top now. The conflict in Iraq retains the fee of oil severe and that makes the Saudis and the Iranians greater advantageous than satisfied (Iranians use that greater money for their nuclear weapons software). So via invading Iraq the U. S. hurts individuals on the pump and that they are in a roundabout way helping to construct the Iran nuclear bomb that they desperately decide to renounce. yet another remarkable flow via Bush.

Answer 5

Pure and simple, FRAUD! Hurricaine Katrina taught the oil companies that they could easily get $3 a gallon or more for their product and they backed down very little since then.

Record profits from ALL of the oil companies show that any excuse for increased oil prices besides huge profit gains is simply a lie.

Answer 6

Vastly increasing demand in China. Americans have been complaining for years how jobs are being lost to China, how much stuff we import from China, the trade deficit with China and so on. All this is making China rich. Those streets in Chinese cities that used to have nothing but millions of bicycles are now choked with cars, just like American cities. And SUVs are especially popular in China. All those SUVs are using gasoline and it is taking up every spare drop in the world market. With the ongoing ecconomic expansion in China, I think $5 per gallon gas in the US is not far off.

Answer 7

The usa has a set number of oil imports and reserves, every year the people in charge decide how much we get, this year they decided on too little and there is a shortage. Thats about as simple as I can put it.

Answer 8

Oil refinerys (all over the world) can't refine enough, fast enough, to meet our demand for it. Petrol is not just for fueling cars, but also found in or used in the process of making plastics, candle wax, and just about any other man-made product you can think of. The less you need to use, the less you have to pay for it. Supply and demand.

Answer 9

Because people will pay for it. Most people don't have a choice about buying gas if they want to keep the jobs they have. So they have to buy it, and the oil companies are realizing they can get more money!

Answer 10

we can compain about gasoline, but we don't have it as bad as other countries where a gallon cost twice what our high price is. Were not the lowest by any means, but until we have proper public transportation were stuck