Petrol Prices

Do you know what a good feeling is? I experienced it recently and cannot say whether I will be able to for much longer. The feeling is of course joy at paying less dollars than the number of litres of petrol I put into my car. I only received my license a year and a half ago and did not pay much attention to the prices of petrol before they became a larger part of my life and thus I have been living in a world where it is common for me to fork out in excess of one dollar per litre.

However, a little while ago, petrol prices in many other places began to drop which made me happy due to two of my traits: cheapness and wanting-to-get-my-money's-worth-ness. Naively, I assumed that the prices here would drop also; for if we were paying less to get the petrol here, the petrol stations could charge us less for their subsequent purchase. Alas I was mistaken. From what I remember about a radio report at the time, high prices were being continually charged for petrol just so certain people could roll around in more money and more importantly: because they could. Don't get me wrong; I know oil tycoons exist to be rich stereotypes, but they can do that without charging me $1.50 for a stinking litre of petrol.

Then the most wonderful thing of all happened: a (from what I've seen) unanimous decline in the price of petrol. For the first time in my memory I was paying only a double digit cent value for my litre of petrol; under one dollar! Twice I have filled up for less than a dollar (I don't consume too much fuel. 'Why then are you bent on low fuel prices if you don't need to pay often?' you may ask. It's the principle! And also because I want to get my money's worth! Oh - and I guess I care about everyone else as well...) and both times it has been euphoric to look at the cost/volume gauge and see the volume units tick over slightly faster than the cost units.

Then I saw part of the news and heard that BP would be raising its prices again. Again! By 12 cents! Why BP? I used to look at your little green funny looking logo and happyness would well in my heart for the bargain I am about to recieve, now I will only see a money hungry terror, longing for more cash from my wallet than is duly needed. And as a result, other petrol outlets may raise their prices aswell, the report said! I haven't gone past any service stations since I heard the report three days ago to find out if it is true but that doesn't particularly matter. I am aware that the entire situation may be slightly more complicated than the two linear Supply/Demand curves which formed the sole content of what I learned in economics in SOSE, but I do know that if other petrol stations needn't tease me with prices that aren't ridiculously unacceptable and then shoot them up again, then BP, you needn't either.

The coming weeks will allow a clearer view into what will happen to the petrol prices as a whole; whether it be a united increase or a few harsh words and a step back in line of the BPs that feel compulsed to steal from us again. I obviously hope for the latter and I will assume that you do too, otherwise you are probably an oil tycoon and you most likely have better things to do than read my blog. I give the decrease of petrol prices 10 very happy Justins out of 10, whereas the increase of BPs prices recieves a 1 fuming consumer out of 10.