Historical fuel prices (very old thread)

BrianD3

Does anyone have any data on fuel prices in Ireland over the last 20-30 years or whatever. Just thinking back 10-15 years fuel seemed to cost a pittance compared to today but just how much cheaper was it.

Anan1

I remember diesel costing 50p/litre in 1987. In real terms, that's a lot more than it costs today.

mike65

In 1979 the 1 pound gallon happened and it seemed like a fortune.

Mike.

bazz26

Don't have any links to the requested info but I remember coming back from Tralee about 3 years and seen an old closed for years Texaco filling station in Castleisland and the rusty sign had "Petrol 34p per litre" and "Diesel 22p per litre" displayed on it.

pete4130

October 2007, Usher Island Statoil garage, Dublin 179.9 cent a litre.

unkel

Iirc the price of petrol was quite stable for t few years in the mid to late 90s at about 55p per litre

I'd like to see some historical data too!

mike65

This is from Australia



by way of interest from a 'low' carbon tax economy.

Mike.

Marcus.Aurelius

http://www.aaireland.ie/petrolprices/

Dates petrol here back to Aug 2001, before the 9/11 rubbish sent world prices skyrocketing for Mr Cheney Corp!

is_that_so

These are sterling prices from 1896 per gallon but considering we've been attached for a lot of that time, it may help. Average salaries were probably about £25-£30 a week or so in the early 1970s.


Also this little table on prices in 1973 v 2002. In 1973 workers needed to work over 9 hours for a sample basket of food. In 2002 this had halved.
Columns
1973/ 2002/ Price in 2002*
1 kg Round Steak 1.74 8.71 14.02
1 kg Lam Gigot Chops 1.40 9.94 11.28
1 kg Back Rashers 1.54 10.20 12.41
1 litre of Milk 0.11 0.85 0.89
800g White Sliced Pan 0.15 1.05 1.21

*had inflation been tracked since 1973
from this linky

Also this one which tracks the price of Guinness

BrianD3

Anan1 wrote: »

I remember diesel costing 50p/litre in 1987. .

Seriously? I must be looking back with rose tinted glasses so as I would have put it at much lower than that.

BrianD3

Oh and does anyone know the film "This is my Father" a film shot in Ireland in around 1998 and partly filmed in Rathangan Co. Kildare. There is a good shot of a Statoil petrol station price sign, can't remember what the prices were though

JHMEG

Anan1 wrote: »

I remember diesel costing 50p/litre in 1987. In real terms, that's a lot more than it costs today.

I remember Unleaded costing 47p in 2001!

pete4130

taken today at about 4pm.

Guy:Incognito

pete4130 wrote: »

taken today at about 4pm.

Congratulations, thats twice in the same thread. Point?

MarkN

Stekelly wrote: »

Congratulations, thats twice in the same thread. Point?

It's a classic example of rip off Ireland and it's a fukking disgrace that's his point.

Anan1

MarkN wrote: »

It's a classic example of rip off Ireland and it's a fukking disgrace that's his point.

No offence, MarkN, but what part of the free market don't you understand? Last time you wanted to dictate what products petrol stations sell, and now you want price controls? If you don't like the price, or indeed the product, then don't buy. Private businesses don't owe you, or indeed me, anything.

MarkN

When did I ''dictate'' anything? I thought it was funny that VRT is taken off you for your car that needs 98 but nobody is obliged to supply you with the fuel to run it properly. And I'm sorry, open market or not (something I understand perfectly fine thanks having done business and worked in Statoil for some years), if greed is the way forward in selling petrol, then why is every other petrol station not ripping everyone off to that extent - your point about not buying is a bit shoot yourself (the guy that owns that franchise) in the foot as of course there are other places to buy fuel so it's not like you have to force someone to ''not buy the product''. I'm all for healthy competition but those prices are a disgrace.

Anan1

MarkN wrote: »

When did I ''dictate'' anything? I thought it was funny that VRT is taken off you for your car that needs 98 but nobody is obliged to supply you with the fuel to run it properly.

If I bought a rocket-powered car and paid my VRT on it, would that oblige my local Esso to stock rocket fuel?;)

MarkN wrote: »

And I'm sorry, open market or not, if greed is the way forward in selling petrol, then why is every other petrol station not ripping everyone off to that extent - your point about not buying is a bit shoot yourself (the guy that owns that franchise) in the foot as of course there are other places to buy fuel so it's not like you have to force someone to ''not buy the product''. I'm all for healthy competition but those prices are a disgrace.

The point is that that garage owner is perfectly entitled to charge whatever he sees fit. When you go to sell your car, won't you try to get as much as you can for it?

Guy:Incognito

MarkN wrote: »

It's a classic example of rip off Ireland and it's a fukking disgrace that's his point.

Regardless of what it is it's irrelevant in this thread.specially twice.

MarkN

Anan1 wrote: »

If I bought a rocket-powered car and paid my VRT on it, would that oblige my local Esso to stock rocket fuel?;)

The point is that that garage owner is perfectly entitled to charge whatever he sees fit. When you go to sell your car, won't you try to get as much as you can for it?

Well if I could buy a rocket powered car then yes I would expect to be able to fill it up somewhere. And on your theory, I could put my car up on Carzone for 10k more than all the other same models with the same amount of kms on the clock and expect someone to pay that money for it and the fact is, they wouldn't. I could do it no problem but how is it good business sense to price myself out of the market and how do I expect people to take my product seriously when I am taking the piss on the price.

Anan1

MarkN wrote: »

Well if I could buy a rocket powered car then yes I would expect to be able to fill it up somewhere.

You would expect the government to force someone to sell you fuel for a car you freely elected to buy? That's patently unreasonable.

MarkN wrote: »

And on your theory, I could put my car up on Carzone for 10k more than all the other same models with the same amount of kms on the clock and expect someone to pay that money for it and the fact is, they wouldn't. I could do it no problem but how is it good business sense to price myself out of the market and how do I expect people to take my product seriously when I am taking the piss on the price.

You're missing the point. The garage owner is perfectly entitled to decide how much to charge for fuel. Given that he's been charging 50% more than most for a while now, we must assume that his pricing structure is making him money. It's not even as though it's a partictlarly novel approach - convenience stores are based on it.

JHMEG

MarkN is making the point (I think) that that particular Statoil is blantantly profiteering. Unfortunately while profiteering is forbidden on Adverts.ie and elsewhere, filling stations are, for now, still allowed to do it.

It is a disgrace as Mark says, and is entitled to, but all we can do for now is not buy fuel there.

Anan1

Is profiteering forbidden on adverts.ie? Or elsewhere? Edit: I've just read the adverts rules, and indeed it is. Ridiculous, IMO.

MarkN

Lol Anan I'm not missing any point.. You tell me why anyone would pay above the odds for a car on Carzone and then apply it to your own argument on that Statoil. Nobody is disputing that he's not breaking any laws but the price he is asking is anti competitive. Would you buy fuel there??

professore

MarkN wrote: »

Well if I could buy a rocket powered car then yes I would expect to be able to fill it up somewhere. And on your theory, I could put my car up on Carzone for 10k more than all the other same models with the same amount of kms on the clock and expect someone to pay that money for it and the fact is, they wouldn't. I could do it no problem but how is it good business sense to price myself out of the market and how do I expect people to take my product seriously when I am taking the piss on the price.

Someone must be paying it otherwise they would be out of business.

professore

JHMEG wrote: »

MarkN is making the point (I think) that that particular Statoil is blantantly profiteering. Unfortunately while profiteering is forbidden on Adverts.ie and elsewhere, filling stations are, for now, still allowed to do it.

It is a disgrace as Mark says, and is entitled to, but all we can do for now is not buy fuel there.

Surely profiteering is when you have a monopoly or near monopoly on a product or service and charge exorbitant prices for it (e.g. Aer Lingus to London in the 1980's?) This is not the case with petrol and diesel - there are plenty of places to get it. Give it another 2-3 years when peak oil - http://www.peakoilfordummies.com/domino.html really kicks in and then you will see the Saudis and the Russians profiteering.

Anan1

MarkN wrote: »

Lol Anan I'm not missing any point.. You tell me why anyone would pay above the odds for a car on Carzone and then apply it to your own argument on that Statoil. Nobody is disputing that he's not breaking any laws but the price he is asking is anti competitive. Would you buy fuel there??

But people clearly do buy fuel there, don't they? No, of course I wouldn't, and I hope I never have to. Don't get me wrong, i'm not suggesting giving him a medal or anything. That said, the guy is entitled to charge whatever he sees fit.

unkel

To maximise profits is the only goal any commercial company has ever had

If you, as a customer, don't like it: buy somewhere else.

bmaxi

I think a check on the number of competing outlets may give a clue as to his pricing structure. Also, a lot of his business is from account customers, taxis etc, who I would venture, do not pay the advertised price.

rainbowtrout

unkel wrote: »

Iirc the price of petrol was quite stable for t few years in the mid to late 90s at about 55p per litre

I'd like to see some historical data too!

yep, indeed it was. I got my first car in 1998 and petrol was 55p/litre... how times have changed.

Mitch Connor

That Statoil station have a deal with The government that all gardia and ambulance vehicles will be filled up there.

The government will no be paying the 179.9 (probably not even paying the statoil fuel card price) but the guaruntee of business from the government is enough to keep that garage doing well, so the high prices keep all but the most desperate out, and the forecourt clear for the government vehicles.

They are not forcing anybody to pay 179.9, so no one has to pay it if they do not want to.

JHMEG

professore wrote: »

Surely profiteering is when you have a monopoly or near monopoly on a product or service and charge exorbitant prices for it

How many other fuel stations are within a 15 minute *rush hour* drive of that one? I can't prove it but I'm sure there are plenty of members of the public who end up (for whatever reason) buying fuel there.

Noun 1. profiteer - someone who makes excessive profit (especially on goods in short supply)

Calahonda52

So ten years on has anyone got any historical petrol prices?

Let's not open another oil well of vitriolic commentary: its a yes with a link or any with a smile:)

eringobragh

Calahonda52 wrote: »

So ten years on has anyone got any historical petrol prices?

Let's not open another oil well of vitriolic commentary: its a yes with a link or any with a smile:)

Well I renewed my licence last year and when I started driving a litre of petrol was hovering in the high 90's a litre of petrol for a good while. 97c a litre of thereabouts if I recall correctly definitely wasn't more that a euro, that was 2006

Calahonda52

Thank you:)

What I am after is based on the following data
days are not exact, year and month are!

1st June 2008 1 barrel of crude oil cost 156 $
1st Jan 2009 1 barrel of crude oil cost 50 $
1st Jan 2016 1 barrel of crude oil cost 30 $

and
1st June 2008: 1 Euro bought 1.55 $
1st Jan 2009: 1 Euro bought 1.40 $
1st Jan 2016: 1 Euro bought 1.04 $

Oil is about 45 bucks a barrel today and euro/$ is about 1.14
and petrol is about 1.30
one of the earlier posts here in 2007 showed petrol at 1.80

so, 3 times a jump in oil prices only gives 40 cents increase in petrol.

so is 1.30 way way too high due to taxes?

mikeecho

For what a gallon of fuel provides, is practically free energy.


Fill your car from empty with a gallon of fuel 4.5L, drive in a straight line till you stop.
Then push the car back to the same petrol station.
... only then will you realise how great value fuel is, even with the massive taxes.

Is 5/6 euro enough to be paid to push your car 40 to 50 miles (60 to 80km)

TallGlass

Friday October 13, 2006 11:39

TallGlass

Saturday July 23, 2005 17:24

TallGlass

DECEMBER 20, 2013

boardsuser1

TallGlass wrote: »

Friday October 13, 2006 11:39

The former shell garage in Douglas Cork, Now Topaz.

boardsuser1

The cheapest i ever remember it was in a small filling station across from the Garda station on the Watercourse Road in Blackpool in Cork. 48.9p

TallGlass

KC161 wrote: »

The former shell garage in Douglas Cork, Now Topaz.

Yeah, I would say they are all gone now. I suspect Topaz will rebrand in the next year or so. Too many different brands in one, Topaz, Miles, Esso, Restore etc..

Seems like 50c extra between when I started driving and now. It did look fairly ugly I think at one stage it was heading to 2€ a litre.

boardsuser1

TallGlass wrote: »

Yeah, I would say they are all gone now. I suspect Topaz will rebrand in the next year or so. Too many different brands in one, Topaz, Miles, Esso, Restore etc..

Seems like 50c extra between when I started driving and now. It did look fairly ugly I think at one stage it was heading to 2€ a litre.

There's not a Shell or Statoil left in the country sadly.

All became Topaz which will now become Circle-K.

Brands i remember growing up were;

BP
Esso
Jet
Maxol
Statoil
Shell
Top.

While some of the above remain, others are long gone, in some cases over 25 years.

Those were just the big names, other small petrol stations went to the wall also.

I started driving in 2003, the prices were about 87.9c then for petrol, Diesel was about 3-5c more expensive.

Yeah it was in 2005 i was thinking myself it would hit the €2.00 per litre mark.

mikeecho

TallGlass wrote: »

Friday October 13, 2006 11:39

Mmmmmm. V Power

mikeecho

KC161 wrote: »

There's not a Shell or Statoil left in the country sadly.

All became Topaz which will now become Circle-K.

Brands i remember growing up were;

BP
Esso
Jet
Maxol
Statoil
Shell
Top.

While some of the above remain, others are long gone, in some cases over 25 years.

Those were just the big names, other small petrol stations went to the wall also.

I started driving in 2003, the prices were about 87.9c then for petrol, Diesel was about 3-5c more expensive.

Yeah it was in 2005 i was thinking myself it would hit the €2.00 per litre mark.

Esso, jet, shell, BP, topaz..= Circle K

bmwguy

Started driving in 1998 and petrol was 65.9p per litre in my town. The neighbouring town was 62.9p per litre so always filled up there on way home as I was passing.

Going with the 62.9p into a euro value is 80c per litre in 1998.

Now it's 135c per litre for unleaded so it has increased by 70% in nearly 20 years. I don't think that's excessive. It's 2.8% a year cumulatively.

But it is cheaper now than in 2004/2005 so the rise between 1998 and then must have been huge.

CeilingFly

Calahonda52 wrote: »

Thank you:)

What I am after is based on the following data
days are not exact, year and month are!

1st June 2008 1 barrel of crude oil cost 156 $
1st Jan 2009 1 barrel of crude oil cost 50 $
1st Jan 2016 1 barrel of crude oil cost 30 $

and
1st June 2008: 1 Euro bought 1.55 $
1st Jan 2009: 1 Euro bought 1.40 $
1st Jan 2016: 1 Euro bought 1.04 $

Oil is about 45 bucks a barrel today and euro/$ is about 1.14
and petrol is about 1.30
one of the earlier posts here in 2007 showed petrol at 1.80

so, 3 times a jump in oil prices only gives 40 cents increase in petrol.

so is 1.30 way way too high due to taxes?

The raw oil and exchange rate are the two variables that change daily and can move substantially either way over a period.

Other costs such as refining into motor fuel, transporting the fuel, duty rates, fuel distribution and retail costs are all relatively stable.



Currently a litre of oil costs 25c (euro), about 6c-8c is refining and delivery to port. 10-12c distribution and retail. The rest is duty, carbon tax and vat.

mikeecho

Looking forward to my petrol flat 6 petrol that I'll have in the next 6 months hopefully.


Just hopeing that topaz /circle k introduce 98ron sooner rather than later

Calahonda52

CeilingFly wrote: »

The raw oil and exchange rate are the two variables that change daily and can move substantially either way over a period.

Other costs such as refining into motor fuel, transporting the fuel, duty rates, fuel distribution and retail costs are all relatively stable.



Currently a litre of oil costs 25c (euro), about 6c-8c is refining and delivery to port. 10-12c distribution and retail. The rest is duty, carbon tax and vat.

Thank you for the first sensible post!.

Looking at the xrates and price in June 2008, the 1.55 xrate meant the 156$ pain was much reduced as it made oil 100 euro, it would be 150 almost today so your point is well made.
Keep well, will unfollow now.

boardsuser1

mikeecho wrote: »

Esso, jet, shell, BP, topaz..= Circle K

I know nothing about Circle K.

Did they buy up Jet and BP?

mikeecho

KC161 wrote: »

I know nothing about Circle K.

Did they buy up Jet and BP?

Jet & bp were bought by statoil.
Statoil then bought shell.
They had to sell off some stations to maxol to avoid competition legalities.

Couche Tard (circle k) then bought topaz

So circle k is, bp topaz, she'll, statoil, jet.

Less and less choice available..

But, bring on 98ron and 60cetane