With the current adjustment in prices, how long till it feeds through to consumer level, and how long will it stay low?

Well aware of the long term trend just wondering if the adjustment will be long enough for people to forget and start wasting fuel again and buying bigger engined cars?

Typical I will get the hang of paying from a phone in time!!!

Well it’s still over $100/barrel so it’s not that much of a fall. As far as prices at the pumps are concerned it will take at least a month, probably longer, for any price reduction to be felt at the pump as the oil currently being used to produce the fuel is generally bought about a month in advance. It will be longer still until secondary effects on the price of goods and services fall also.

With the current adjustment in prices, how long till it feeds through to consumer level …?

don’t hold your breath.

how long will it stay low?

not very.

just wondering if the adjustment will be long enough for people to forget and start wasting fuel again and buying bigger engined cars?

that suggests that people had started taking fuel prices into account, and modifying their behaviour accordingly – i have seen little evidence of this.

Instantly, or not.

The oil companies need cashflow like everyone else, every lire you buy pays for the next one coming ou of the ground.

As far as prices at the pumps are concerned it will take at least a month, probably longer, for any price reduction to be felt at the pump as the oil currently being used to produce the fuel is generally bought about a month in advance.

Depends on the arrangement, if the garrage agree’s its prices in advance, yes, but it only takes one garrage to be selling it at the current price and they’ll all have to drop as no one will shop at the more expensive garrage. Thus even if you agree a price months in advance you can only charge the current price.

If your model was 100% true then 25yr wiskey would be cheep as chips as you’d be buying at 1986 prices, but cheep 8yr stuff would be expenive as your buying at 2003 prices.

if the garrage agree’s its prices in advance

I was talking about the refineries that make the petrol from the oil not the garages that sell the petrol. The wholesale price of petrol is set in part by the cost of the oil that is currently being refined not the spot price of oil. Oil is bought in advance (although the month thing is my best guess as I work in the upstream part of that industry) by these companies in order to ensure a steady supply at a predictable price.

There are a few people I have met talking of grading cars in to get something more fuel efficient.and knowing how long peoples memories are….

Just curious as to what opinion was as to how much of the price is genuine and how much is pure speculation.

As far as prices at the pumps are concerned it will take at least a month, probably longer, for any price reduction to be felt at the pump as the oil currently being used to produce the fuel is generally bought about a month in advance.

I’ve never understood this, as the prices seem to go up within a day or two of price increases, but for some, ahem, reason there is a lag whenever it comes back down again.

that suggests that people had started taking fuel prices into account, and modifying their behaviour accordingly – i have seen little evidence of this.

I have (started modifying my behaviour). 60mph on the commute to work, more gentle acceleration, ‘coasting’ to roundabouts (in gear), better observation enabling more ‘flow’ with the traffic etc.

Fuel economy has gone from a ‘real’ 55mpg average to a ‘real’ average of about 62mpg (varies between about 60 & 64, but not been doing it long enough to get a meaningful ‘average’).
Seems to tie-up as well with about an extra 70 miles/tank for my 10 gallon tank.

Have noticed quite a few cars also dawdling along at ~60mph as well, although will agree it’s the minority, rather than the majority.

I’ve never understood this, as the prices seem to go up within a day or two of price increases, but for some, ahem, reason there is a lag whenever it comes back down again.

There is a lag between the rise in oil price and a rise at the pumps. The problem is that people don’t generally watch the price of oil on a day to day basis but they do watch the price of petrol. When petrol starts to go up they notice that the price of crude has also risen but mistakenly believe that the price rise is due to the current rise in oil when it is actually the rise in oil that happened a month or so ago. This mistake continues when the price of petrol doesn’t fall as fast as they think it should when oil does.

mrmo – Member

There are a few people I have met talking of grading (trading?) cars in to get something more fuel efficient.and knowing how long peoples memories are….

i know people like that, they talk about all sorts of things, what have they actually done…?

(have they even done the easy stuff like check their tyre pressures recently?)

for example, i share lifts with a couple of people to get to work and back. a friend/colleague of mine lives at the end of my road. he grumbles about fuel prices, but refuses to get involved with the car-sharing….