Terrible journalism on Ireland AM yesterday morning, I think it was Nuala Donlon and Mick O' Keefe, she said the government would have to reduce the price of fuel by 2c-3c ? And he said service stations were putting prices up again at the weekend so they could show that they were bringing them down this week! and Elaine just sat there nodding, where do they get these people?
Fuel Price Gouging
- Thread starter Conan
- Start date
Noddyland
I wish politicians could just keep their mouths shut, MMartin saying today we have enough fuel until the end of April and then we'll see what happens! We are obliged by EU law to keep 90 days supply at all times, 3% of this was released onto the market lately as a EU strategy, we get most of our diesel from Canada.I can guarantee from tomorrow onwards people will be driving around with full tanks instead of a quarter tank and trying to fill up 20lt containers to store in their sheds.
Absolutely no shortage of petrol in Europe. Refineries are almost selling this at cost price - $7 on top of the oil price. A certain amount of a barrel of oil can only be refined to petrol - same with diesel. Another percentage can go through further processing/additives and be refined to either fuel. This is more costly.
Diesel on the other hand is back near $70 for refining and supply is just about keeping up with demand.
Because they are trying to keep up with diesel demand, it is leaving plenty of petrol being available, so no shortage of petrol.
Diesel (20% European supply from middle east), Jet fuel (30%+) and kerosene (30%) could see shortages at some point.
Diesel on the other hand is back near $70 for refining and supply is just about keeping up with demand.
Because they are trying to keep up with diesel demand, it is leaving plenty of petrol being available, so no shortage of petrol.
Diesel (20% European supply from middle east), Jet fuel (30%+) and kerosene (30%) could see shortages at some point.
A friend of mine was getting diesel two days ago when a van pulled up next to him . The guy started filling an oil tank in the back of his van, with diesel . He was still filling it by the time he, my friend , paid in the shop and came out.
Either he is getting worried and/or our Taoiseach remarks are creating panic....
Either he is getting worried and/or our Taoiseach remarks are creating panic....
A bit late with this one, apologies. The last edition of The Sunday Times magazine 29/03/2026, has an article penned by "Tim Shallcross, independent expert" which states in part :-
"Since last year all filling stations [presumably UK-wide] are required to submit price changes within 30 minutes to the Government's Fuel Finder service which powers a variety of price-finder apps and websites."
He then goes on to review a number of such, which are independent of the data provided. Could our Government, via one of the innumerable quangos, undertake such work, and, more importantly, monitor compliance with fines for non-compliance? No? I know we have various centralised data-bases about energy consumption and pricing, some of which work better than others
but if fuel pricing is going to be subject to volatility in pricing and availability, maybe even rationing, this would make sense to me anyway.
Gov UK Fuel Finder Service
They "estimate this will save households who own a car an average of £40 a year. It is intended to strengthen competition between retailers over time, bringing down the price for all drivers."
"Since last year all filling stations [presumably UK-wide] are required to submit price changes within 30 minutes to the Government's Fuel Finder service which powers a variety of price-finder apps and websites."
He then goes on to review a number of such, which are independent of the data provided. Could our Government, via one of the innumerable quangos, undertake such work, and, more importantly, monitor compliance with fines for non-compliance? No? I know we have various centralised data-bases about energy consumption and pricing, some of which work better than others
but if fuel pricing is going to be subject to volatility in pricing and availability, maybe even rationing, this would make sense to me anyway.Gov UK Fuel Finder Service
They "estimate this will save households who own a car an average of £40 a year. It is intended to strengthen competition between retailers over time, bringing down the price for all drivers."
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CorkHome2022
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The price of Brent Crude has gone from 111 dollars a barrel yesterday at about 1400 to 91.3 today at 1430 , now those in the fuel supply business were very quick to come out and put prices up when the price spiked even though at the end of Feb the oil price was for delivery in April , they quoted all sort of stuff to justify instant price rises , now I assume the price will drop as fast !!!
You can be sure it wont because they will say they had purchased the oil at peak prices .
Look at the below from the MarketWatch website and see the future priced contract for Brent Crude .
The figures say enough , they are ripping us off!!
You can be sure it wont because they will say they had purchased the oil at peak prices .
Look at the below from the MarketWatch website and see the future priced contract for Brent Crude .
The figures say enough , they are ripping us off!!
As has been explained umpteen times in this thread and others on this topic the price charges by the distributors is set by the wholesalers (large depots). The price they charge is based on their purchasing price. That price is based on the refinery prices, not the crude oil price.
There may well be a case that can be made that the refineries are price gouging but we don't refine much oil here so we don't get to set the price.
CorkHome2022
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Which iis the very point I made , the forecourt prices are the final link in the chain , the gouging in going on further up the line , do you not think the wholesale purchasers are not hedging also ? The Airlines certainly do .
Not all hedging is created equal. Hedging could be full or partial, over the short or long term and it may be a physical (i.e. delivery of the product) or cash settled hedge depending on the strategy. The wholesaler has to manage physical storage so would unlikely hedge over the long term, unlike the airlines, if at all. It does require a degree of financial sophistication.
The diesel in the garage today was paid for two months ago. The cash you are handing over today is being used to buy fuel at the market price for delivery in two months. The forecourt price today reflects the cash cycle of the business and market conditions, not strictly the cost of the actual goods sold.
They want the taxpayer to provide free and unlimited insurance against the price of oil, it’s refining, delivery and storage costs, by guaranteeing (capping) the price of fuel.
Not a chance in hell of retail fuel suppliers hedging. Imagine hedging last week at $100, jumping with joy on your profits when it hit $113 and then crying a day later when it headed towards $90.
Hedging is almost all done by large fuel users or investors.
A fuel user like Ryanair likes to know the price they will paying and know the approx quantity they need. They will price their end product (tickets) on their input costs - so if they buy too high (as they have done in the past), it's already factored in and unlikely to affect their operations.
A fuel distributor paying over the odds on a very low margin product would run the risk of financial ruin if they over paid as the retailers would simply go to another supplier leaving them with very expensive fuel that they have to sell at a heavy loss.
In a way it's like trying to time the market on anything - you can get "lucky", but more often you can get burnt.
Example
DCC are a very large player in fuel (Ireland, UK, Denmark and Austria) They are stock exchange listed. If they did any hedging they'd have to state it as it would be seen as a fundamental risk. As they don't mention it, you can be sure they don't do it.
Same with applegreen, they actually stated that hedging is a very high risk and not something they'd ever consider.
Refugees, Ukrainian refugees, Asylum seekers, the price of cabbage, carbon tax, the government, the weather, Jews, Trans people... everything.
It can't be fuel prices though, as when purchasing power is taken into account are significantly below the EU average. Nobody is stupid enough not to realise that, right?
Excellent article from Fintan O'Toole in todays Irish Times.
Still €1.998 at nearest two stations to me (NCD).
JoeRoberts
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Sometimes you have to ask yourself the question why it is so cheap....
Sister Sara
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I came across €1.79 diesel yesterday evening, but only after filling up earlier in the day on €1.95. 
€1.79 is pre-US war prices and yet oil prices remain over $100
€1.79 is pre-US war prices and yet oil prices remain over $100