StewartR
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Well, I guess it's no surprise really, but here's proof if you ever wanted it that you can hold an important position in the financial engine-room of our government whilst having zero numeracy skills.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29924710 - "Danny Alexander to call for fuel price cut"
Basically he's saying that oil prices have come down quite a lot recently, but petrol prices at the pump haven't. Oil has fallen from $115 a barrel in June to $84 now, a drop of 27%. But the average price of a litre of unleaded has only fallen from 131.7p to 124.22p, a drop of only 5.7%. So obviously the oil companies are ripping us off.
Hmm. Do the sums, Danny. Nearly all the numbers you need are in that BBC article.
In June, £1 got you $1.7165, so that $115 barrel of oil was £67.00. Now, £1 = $1.598, so the $84 barrel of oil is £52.57. And the fall in oil prices, in £ terms, is only 21.5%.
Also, petrol prices contain both VAT and 57.95p per litre fuel duty. So at 131.7p per litre, that's 109.75p without VAT, and it's 51.80p without VAT and fuel duty. At 124.22p per litre, that's 103.52p without VAT, and it's 45.57p without VAT and fuel duty. So the price that the oil companies actually have control over has fallen from 51.80p to 45.57p, a fall of 12.0%.
That doesn't make such a good headline, does it? Oil price down 27%, petrol price down 5.7% - that sounds like a rip-off. Oil price down 21%, petrol price down 12% - not so bad.
And of that 45.57p per litre that the oil companies actually have some control over, how much of that goes on the raw material itself? Surely a certain percentage is the cost of refining it, transporting it, marketing it, retailing it, and making a profit - and that won't come down just because the price of the raw material comes down. If the overheads account for 15p per litre, say (a number I just made up), then it works out that the reduction in the oil price has fed through almost exactly into the reduction in the pump price.
I don't hold any beef for the oil companies, I should say. But it just irritates me to see nonsense like this. Danny Alexander hopes to get some political mileage out of his speech, but it's basically either lies or incompetence. Still, only 6 months and the election will be behind us.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29924710 - "Danny Alexander to call for fuel price cut"
Basically he's saying that oil prices have come down quite a lot recently, but petrol prices at the pump haven't. Oil has fallen from $115 a barrel in June to $84 now, a drop of 27%. But the average price of a litre of unleaded has only fallen from 131.7p to 124.22p, a drop of only 5.7%. So obviously the oil companies are ripping us off.
Hmm. Do the sums, Danny. Nearly all the numbers you need are in that BBC article.
In June, £1 got you $1.7165, so that $115 barrel of oil was £67.00. Now, £1 = $1.598, so the $84 barrel of oil is £52.57. And the fall in oil prices, in £ terms, is only 21.5%.
Also, petrol prices contain both VAT and 57.95p per litre fuel duty. So at 131.7p per litre, that's 109.75p without VAT, and it's 51.80p without VAT and fuel duty. At 124.22p per litre, that's 103.52p without VAT, and it's 45.57p without VAT and fuel duty. So the price that the oil companies actually have control over has fallen from 51.80p to 45.57p, a fall of 12.0%.
That doesn't make such a good headline, does it? Oil price down 27%, petrol price down 5.7% - that sounds like a rip-off. Oil price down 21%, petrol price down 12% - not so bad.
And of that 45.57p per litre that the oil companies actually have some control over, how much of that goes on the raw material itself? Surely a certain percentage is the cost of refining it, transporting it, marketing it, retailing it, and making a profit - and that won't come down just because the price of the raw material comes down. If the overheads account for 15p per litre, say (a number I just made up), then it works out that the reduction in the oil price has fed through almost exactly into the reduction in the pump price.
I don't hold any beef for the oil companies, I should say. But it just irritates me to see nonsense like this. Danny Alexander hopes to get some political mileage out of his speech, but it's basically either lies or incompetence. Still, only 6 months and the election will be behind us.
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