We’re in recession territory now and its official. Just look at the rising level of inflation – not very good at all. However, it’s not all doom and gloom now is it? The great news is that petrol has (in some areas at least) gone down to 99.9p per litre.
This cost actually can be found at many BP, Asda and Morrisons stores – so make sure that you head there next time you get your fuel. Similarly, diesel can now about found at around 112p per litre – a reduction in 20p per litre in some areas.
It really is good news for the consumer, after many worried that suppliers simply weren’t bothering to pass on the reduction, it also comes for UK airlines – both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic announced cuts in their fuel surcharges.
To be honest, I was starting to find it a little hard to report on expensive vehicles that would struggle to get into the double figures in the miles per gallon stakes knowing how hard we were all being squeezed. I think the price cut comes in too late for some of us, but I hope for the majority it offers a little respite in these particularly hard times.
Look out for tomorrow’s post, where I’m going to take a look at an extremely reasonably priced limited edition sports car has aged really well.
I was interested to find an info on UK to compare tendencies with Russia where still in December 2008 no meaningful petrol (gasoline) price drop has been seen. It is also of interest to know that UK prices were dropping in pounds denomination though GBP itself declined to USD. Good for you, guys. Russia is still to catch up.
Hi Maxim,
I’d like to know, as OPEC is planning once again to cut oil supplies (effectively a brilliant way to artificially increase prices) will Russia see a price increase or will your prices remain unaffected?
Obviously, our prices here in the UK are more closely tied to the global market. Whilst you guys did not see a cut, I’d love to know how much you pay per litre.
I’d wager it’s a lot less than us, given that we pay tax and duty on our fuel, oh yeah, and tax on the money we earn to pay for the fuel – triple taxation anyone?.
Hi Mr Butterscotch and everybody,
As of today (18 Dec 2008) we pay twice as US average (in USD equivalent), which may still be less than the UK prices even after their drop.
In Russia (read: metro Moscow, as Russia may see10x variation region to region) prices for most things top UK though. A cup of tea in a mid-rank cafe is about USD 5.00. Clothes can be easily 2x, even though: 1 – cashiers salary is miserable, 2 – logistics is supposedely cheeper in Russia than in UK. There is a kids tiy store (elc.com) where GBP prices are printed on toys, and you can see that these are sold in Moscow at up to 100% premium.
What is certainly lower in Moscow than in UK is salaries and some services. You can often tell a 5-year college degree in a store clerk or a cab driver.
I am a translator between languages, and my customers such as high-profile lawyers would not pay even as much as an agency pays to its subcontractors in Europe.
…and the direct answer about price per litre is USD 0.78 in Moscow
Hi Maxim,
Thanks for the update. Interesting info you give there.
To provide a comparative, if you pay rougly 0.78 USD in Moscow, that would be around £0.37. We tend to still pay around 2.5 times that in the UK!
Hi again there,
I heard of high gas/petrol prices in Europe/UK.
But is it really 5x the US?
Today’s exchange rate at x-rates.com gives me £1 = USD 1.4854
So we Russian pay about £0.53 to my best guess.
You guys pay more, but less than twice.
It seems that being No.1 oil producer is of a benefit to Russia but a meager one. Your coastal line, for instance, could be a by far greater asset to economy.
Back to the ‘Russia – UK price match’, this is in fact an excellent business chance for you guys. In Moscow, probably a largest urban place in the world, we have just 1 viable supermarket chain. It is Auchan from France. They made a fortune here. Imagine non-stop lines of shoppers to checkout with carts full to the top of products that are local-produced by penny-paid farmers but sold above US prices. Lines to buy cars were months-long until recent (I mean world’s best sellers as Honda Civic etc.) The only job for a dealership salesman was filling out forms and slipping relatives’ applications ahead of line. Now we have a ‘crisis’, so some dealers thought they should try to offer some discounts. Mitsubishi was forced to stop their autumn sales promotion on the third day because they ran out of stock. People’s main concern now in the crisis time is to find goods to spend their rubles/dollars for because stocks are getting thin. If West can offer something at a 50% premium to your domestic prices that will be considered a charity here.
Not higher fuel prices?! Surely!