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Who’s fuelling who?
My BMW 118d still very good. Excellent to drive and getting anywhere between 54+ and 56+ mpg average and occasional 60+mpg on long, careful runs. Quite a bit of local driving as well and some full acceleration. But, although the economy is miles better than the 325 I sold and I am saving on fuel costs, why are diesel prices staying high? Petrol prices have come down nicely, but diesel prices have lagged and the differential has grown. Is it a shortage of the fuel, or profiteering by the fuel companies or what? You recently wrote that Brits only bleat when directly affected, but bleating to authorities seems to have precious little effect, and common sense is lacking in most of them, so who can I moan to about diesel prices that might have an effect or, at least, trigger a response?
Asked on 17 January 2009 by
Answered by
Honest John
Depending on the crude oil itself there is a limit to how much low sulphur diesel can be refined from each barrel of crude, unless new types of multi million pound refineries are built. Unfortunately, worldwide demand is relatively greater for the amount of diesel that can be refined from crude than it is for petrol. It's used for trucking, shipping, railways, heating, farming, etc. So really, everyone who uses it in private cars is putting up the cost of diesel for more essential uses, which in turn puts up the price of everything. Europe has more diesel then the UK because it can store more, which is why diesel is dearer in the UK than in Europe. But in countries like Thailand diesel is around 20% dearer than petrol, and they don't need it for heating because it never gets cold enough. The duty is the same 52 .35p + VAT that it is for petrol, + vat on the fuel itself.
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