[urq] Re: Fuel prices

[CARDCONSYS at aol.com]

        It would seem that this forum is really not one to discuss politics 
and fuel prices, but the author of this particular piece is misguided and 
uninformed by railing against the oil companies and struck a particular nerve. 
There are three main components of fuel prices: cost of production, supply and 
demand, and taxes. The main price component in the UK is tax and it is the 
politicians that govern it not the supply chain. Pump price in the UK is around 80p 
per litre. At 3.8 litres per US gallon and an exchange rate of $1.80 to the 
pound that works out at $5.47 per US gallon! In the US we currently pay $2.00 
and that includes a relatively small component of Federal and State tax. The oil 
companies run a business that like any other is subject to supply and demand 
variations, at both ends, and while not perfect in other regards they do not 
control the tax component. How about increasing production, reducing 
consumption, and decreasing the tax? By the way, considering all the production steps it 
goes through fuel is far cheaper per gallon than, say, Perrier which is just 
pumped from the ground, through filters, and into a bottle!
       Martin Dapot