Fuel Price Scaremongering

[Shrop]

Watching GMTV over breakfast this morning (https://www.itv.com/goodmorningbritain) it was very noticeable that Susannah Reid seemed obsessed with mentioning fuel prices.

If there's one thing we know, it's that many drivers share this obsession, and so her comments that fuel prices have already gone up by 3p per litre are pretty well guaranteed to cause queues at fuel stations. She said it many times and seemed to do so in as many ways as she could possibly think of, at various intervals.

Surely this will lead to drivers going out purely for the purpose of buying fuel. In doing so they will block others who were simply going to buy fuel because they're running low and were going to do so anyway. But all of this crazy and unnecessary sensationalism will simply cause more fuel to be used, as well as wasting time for those who are already busy.

Is this type of reporting and presentation really responsible? What do people on this forum think?

 

[bramling]

Watching GMTV over breakfast this morning it was very noticeable that Susannah Reid seemed obsessed with mentioning fuel prices.

If there's one thing we know, it's that many drivers share this obsession, and so her comments that fuel prices have already gone up by 3p per litre are pretty well guaranteed to cause queues at fuel stations. She said it many times and seemed to do so in as many ways as she could possibly think of, at various intervals.

Surely this will lead to drivers going out purely for the purpose of buying fuel. In doing so they will block others who were simply going to buy fuel because they're running low and were going to do so anyway. But all of this crazy and unnecessary sensationalism will simply cause more fuel to be used, as well as wasting time for those who are already busy.

Is this type of reporting and presentation really responsible? What do people on this forum think?

I really don’t get why people would go out and fill up just to save a few pounds. There would only be a value to doing it if it was possible to stockpile enough to be able to make an actual meaningful saving, which for most people is never going to be an option.

No doubt some people will panic though, I never cease to be amazed in my town how utterly feckless some people are, for example my neighbour who will drive to his parents house, all of 250 yards round the corner, or who will drive to the local post office which is about 600 yards away.

 

[johncrossley]

Petrol was £1 per litre in 2005, £1.78 in today's money, so petrol has dropped in price massively.

 

[35B]

I remember the fuel price protests in 2000 - and how they nearly brought down a government. That will be in journalists' minds, and why they frame the story in that way.

I also remember the collapse of Northern Rock in 2008, and the way that reporting the impending collapse brought it forward (at best) or even made it inevitable (at worst)

 

[Shrop]

I remember the fuel price protests in 2000 - and how they nearly brought down a government. That will be in journalists' minds, and why they frame the story in that way.

I also remember the collapse of Northern Rock in 2008, and the way that reporting the impending collapse brought it forward (at best) or even made it inevitable (at worst)

It's a very sad reflection of society that we're so gullible to the rubbish that journalists spout. It really is a self-fulfilling prophecy to report on fuel price rises, because enough members of the general public are stupid enough to fall for it, and then the story becomes the queues at the fuel stations.
Of course there might well be actual rises thanks to Trump's war, but we're talking of pence per litre, or less than the price of that one extra drink after a night out, per whole fuel tank full. Listening to GMTV today, the prospect of maybe 5p on a litre of fuel was more terrifying than the war itself

 

[The exile]

I really don’t get why people would go out and fill up just to save a few pounds. There would only be a value to doing it if it was possible to stockpile enough to be able to make an actual meaningful saving, which for most people is never going to be an option.

Given the amount of air /social media time devoted to saving pennies here there and everywhere (including, when it comes to rail fares, on this site!) is it really surprising.
You’re right, of course - it makes almost no sense to make a special trip now or at any time- but it only takes a higher percentage of people to decide to top-up “in passing” to create the impression of panic- buying. I’m going to confess to doing exactly that last night (I was trying to kill a bit of time as well) but I neither caused a queue nor joined one.

 

[johncrossley]

They need to say that petrol is considerably cheaper than it was 20 years ago.

 

[JamesT]

They need to say that petrol is considerably cheaper than it was 20 years ago.

But more expensive than it was 10 years ago. (102p in Feb 2016, which is 141p after inflation)

 

[mmh]

20 years ago we were in a boom, heading towards a slump. Today we're in (possibly the early stages of) another slump.

 

[birchesgreen]

Luckily i've got enough to last for at least a week so by the time i need to re-fill the panic will have ended.

Or it will be full Mad Max

 

[Shrop]

Looking back to 2011, the price of petrol peaked at 137p per litre. According to the CPI (consumer price index) that equates to 217p today.
I don't recall all of our roads becoming devoid of traffic in 2011, all that happened is that people complained, but they still stuck to their cars.
Exactly the same would happen today, its just that our reporters are desperate to scare people and make a story for themselves to report on.
But imagine the complaining if it actually went anywhere near 217p today!

 

[Mojo]

l was thinking by and large how much more responsible the media has been on this occasion compared to the Autumn 2021 fuel supply crisis which was pretty much driven by panic caused by the media. l don't watch lTV however.

 

[MotCO]

I think the fear is not so much that the price will rise, but that there will be a shortage of fuel, not least since the Straits of Humaz is closed to traffic, so ships will have to go the long way round. In reality, there may not be a shortage, but one may be created by panic buying.

 

[notverydeep]

I think the fear is not so much that the price will rise, but that there will be a shortage of fuel, not least since the Straits of Humaz is closed to traffic, so ships will have to go the long way round. In reality, there may not be a shortage, but one may be created by panic buying.

Are you thinking of the Red Sea / Gulf or Aden (leading to the Suez Canal)? The Straight of Hormuz leads into the Persian Gulf, which is a dead end. The 'other way round' for fuel shipments from there to Europe is by road tanker through Iraq and Turkey...

Fuel prices seem to be a bit less sensitive to Geopolitical events both last June and now, than say at the time of the two Gulf Wars. I wonder if this is at least in part because EVs are starting to dent the demand side...

 

[JamesT]

Are you thinking of the Red Sea / Gulf or Aden (leading to the Suez Canal)? The Straight of Hormuz leads into the Persian Gulf, which is a dead end. The 'other way round' for fuel shipments from there to Europe is by road tanker through Iraq and Turkey...

Fuel prices seem to be a bit less sensitive to Geopolitical events both last June and now, than say at the time of the two Gulf Wars. I wonder if this is at least in part because EVs are starting to dent the demand side...

It's the Strait of Hormuz that Iran is trying to close. The Persian Gulf is where a large chunk of the world's oil and gas comes from to be shipped elsewhere.

 

[notverydeep]

It's the Strait of Hormuz that Iran is trying to close. The Persian Gulf is where a large chunk of the world's oil and gas comes from to be shipped elsewhere.

Yes, I was observing that there isn't an 'other way round' for ships available...

 

[greyman42]

Is this type of reporting and presentation really responsible?

It's a very sad reflection of society that we're so gullible to the rubbish that journalists spout.

You only have to look back to Covid to see the rubbish the media spout nowadays.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I think the fear is not so much that the price will rise, but that there will be a shortage of fuel, not least since the Straits of Humaz is closed to traffic -----

I think I have seen the media already implying this and creating "panic "

In reality, there may not be a shortage, but one may be created by panic buying.

Exactly. (IMHO)

 

[Devonian]

If we extend "fuel" beyond the petrol station, I note that heating oil, which is always a more volatile market, has risen from about 60p to about £1 per litre since the weekend. My local supplier is apparently caught between panicking customers and bulk suppliers who are restricting what they can sell.

 

[JohnofWessex]

What about going back to the 70's and cutting speed limits to save energy

I would suggest reducing the speed limits on dual carriageways to 60, partly as a safety measure as well

 

[Cletus]

I think people may "panic buy" because they knew that prices would go up immediately.

The petrol station I use near work put their prices up 3p a litre Monday night and another 3p a litre last night. Luckily I anticipated this happening and filled up on Monday morning.

 

[Bald Rick]

But more expensive than it was 10 years ago. (102p in Feb 2016, which is 141p after inflation)

Petrol is cheaper than 141p round here now!

Feb 2016 is of course when petrol prices were at their lowest point in cash terms any time in the past 15 years. On the basis that equals 141p now, that means petrol prices are also just about at their lowest in real terms at any point in that time frame. Conversely, petrol was almost £2 a litre in mid 2022, which is the same as a price of £2.40 now. Stats can be used however you want them to!

 

[birchesgreen]

137p at my local gas station i passed last night, which had no queues anyway.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

No doubt some people will panic though, I never cease to be amazed in my town how utterly feckless some people are, for example my neighbour who will drive to his parents house, all of 250 yards round the corner, or who will drive to the local post office which is about 600 yards away.

If you were to suffer the type of leg ailments that have afflicted me since 2021 and as one who will be 81 years of age in a month's time, walking 600 yards is something that I would consider to be "a bridge too far".

I am fortunate to now live in a short cul-de-sac with bus stops in either direction, to Stockport and to Wythenshawe, just at the cul-de-sac junction with the main road.

 

[The exile]

If you were to suffer the type of leg ailments that have afflicted me since 2021 and as one who will be 81 years of age in a month's time, walking 600 yards is something that I would consider to be "a bridge too far".

I am fortunate to now live in a short cul-de-sac with bus stops in either direction, to Stockport and to Wythenshawe, just at the cul-de-sac junction with the main road.

Indeed - but the majority of people driving those short distances are doing so purely for “convenience” or out of habit (including myself) and are perfectly capable of walking far more than 600 yards - leaving space on the road / bus for people like you who aren’t.

 

[gazthomas]

I was in Morocco in January and then again this week. Fuel had gone up 8% in that time

 

[SuspectUsual]

Our local Shell garage, which for a small town is generally pretty competitively priced (normally a penny or two cheaper than the nearest supermarket forecourt down in Ripon), jumped in price by 2p yesterday morning and had all 8 pumps in use and cars queuing both times I went past yesterday. People are like lemmings sometimes

 

[Shrop]

Petrol is cheaper than 141p round here now!

Feb 2016 is of course when petrol prices were at their lowest point in cash terms any time in the past 15 years. On the basis that equals 141p now, that means petrol prices are also just about at their lowest in real terms at any point in that time frame. Conversely, petrol was almost £2 a litre in mid 2022, which is the same as a price of £2.40 now. Stats can be used however you want them to!

Yes, stats are often manipulated for all sorts of purposes. The question though is that if fuel prices aren't actually going up that much, then why was it mentioned so often on GMTV?
It seemed provocative, rather than just reporting, especially when previous over-reporting on this subject is what has generated panic-buying?
Actually I could be my own worst enemy saying this - it's too easy for some to ask me to justify my comments by providing links to facts, and alas I can't easily provide them on this matter. Ah well

 

[renegademaster]

My understanding that it's mostly LNG that comes from the Persian Gulf, with Iraq being the only big oil producer that side. Do they have a pipeline through to Syria or Turkey?

Iran look like they are beginning to run out of drones and missiles too so it'll hopefully be short lived

 

[thejuggler]

Not sure about price rise scaremongering, appears to be reality.

Last weekend weekend at a station I used - unleaded £131.9 and diesel £141.9. I have just passed the same station and it is now £145.9 and £160.9