Commodities Pricing and Boat Consumables

[S/V Alchemy]

Copper and lead in the form of raw materials have had significant drops in price in the last 12-24 months as (mainly) Chinese industry has slowed. Has anyone noticed if the price of tinned marine-grade wire or deep cycle batteries have reflected this drop, or is it just the usual case of the boatowner getting the old Aquamet?

[barnakiel]

No. The prices are always going up, never down. We are being ripped off as often as they can.

b.

[stefano_ita]

What about oil at about 36 dollars at barrel but the price of the fuel is the same as it was 100 dollars a barrel?

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by stefano_ita

What about oil at about 36 dollars at barrel but the price of the fuel is the same as it was 100 dollars a barrel?

So I guess the answer is "no"?

[stefano_ita]

Originally Posted by S/V Alchemy

So I guess the answer is "no"?

Exactly...

[roverhi]

They've got to eat up the old inventory so a reduction in prices for basic goods always lags way behind the drop in raw material prices.

Fuel has definitely gotten cheaper though we aren't back to 1980's fuel prices quite yet.

[Barra]

Originally Posted by stefano_ita

What about oil at about 36 dollars at barrel but the price of the fuel is the same as it was 100 dollars a barrel?

+1

And the big winners are oil refineries (not producers obviously) - Australian refiner has just posted an increase in profit of 28 times over last year - yes thats a 2800% increase!

Retailers are also sitting with record profit margins since analysis began in 2002 here.

capitalism EPIC FAIL (at least for the consumer)

[stefano_ita]

Originally Posted by Barra

+1

And the big winners are oil refineries (not producers obviously) - Australian refiner has just posted an increase in profit of 28 times over last year - yes thats a 2800% increase!

Retailers are also sitting with record profit margins since analysis began in 2002 here.

capitalism EPIC FAIL (at least for the consumer)

a big quote about this...

Just thinking about this christmas how many stupid things like gift, extra luxurious dinner-lunch and so on and how much do i spend for it...i would get fuel and food for 2 month somewhere in the world

[Iaangus]

Originally Posted by Barra

+1

And the big winners are oil refineries (not producers obviously) - Australian refiner has just posted an increase in profit of 28 times over last year - yes thats a 2800% increase!

Retailers are also sitting with record profit margins since analysis began in 2002 here.

capitalism EPIC FAIL (at least for the consumer)

I'm paying less than $1.80 a gallon for gas and under $1.90 a gallon for diesel in midwest USA, (the epicenter of evil Capitalism). Thats about 40% of when crude was over $100 per barrel. The problem as I see it is the Govts. of the world are prohibiting real capitalism by preventing me or anybody else from building my own refinery, buying cheap crude and selling cheap gas. Lack of refining capacity is a governmental problem. There is an old saying, "high prices cure high prices and low prices cure low prices" that is very accurate except when Governments intervene and protect the price gougers.

[stefano_ita]

Originally Posted by Iaangus

I'm paying less than $1.80 a gallon for gas and under $1.90 a gallon for diesel in midwest USA, (the epicenter of evil Capitalism). Thats about 40% of when crude was over $100 per barrel. The problem as I see it is the Govts. of the world are prohibiting real capitalism by preventing me or anybody else from building my own refinery, buying cheap crude and selling cheap gas. Lack of refining capacity is a governmental problem. There is an old saying, "high prices cure high prices and low prices cure low prices" that is very accurate except when Governments intervene and protect the price gougers.

Not to make the conspiracy man, but on wikileaks there are some guidelines on about who to make everything private.

Pratically american that says to european governament to makes everything worsth, investing less and less about healtcare, school, public service like energy, waste,ecc so there will be more space to get private indutries, and when they will come arise, to completely deny whatever is public, so the citizen (in italy we call them the sheep) will follow the private way...While paying the same tax when everything was public and well working...

About your refined post ( italian humor , i apologize) read about it

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_...l_companies%29

Pratically what is about to happen in italy, worst and worst pubblic service, and here and there you can see some agencies that were impossible to find 15 years ago, like private previdence, private personal insourance, private healtcare program (never needed all this, it's public and free for everybody)

[Barra]

Originally Posted by stefano_ita

Not to make the conspiracy man, but on wikileaks there are some guidelines on about who to make everything private.

Pratically american that says to european governament to makes everything worsth, investing less and less about healtcare, school, public service like energy, waste,ecc so there will be more space to get private indutries, and when they will come arise, to completely deny whatever is public, so the citizen (in italy we call them the sheep) will follow the private way...While paying the same tax when everything was public and well working...

About your refined post ( italian humor , i apologize) read about it

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_...l_companies%29

Pratically what is about to happen in italy, worst and worst pubblic service, and here and there you can see some agencies that were impossible to find 15 years ago, like private previdence, private personal insourance, private healtcare program (never needed all this, it's public and free for everybody)

Sheep - i like that

Well public services were not free but paid for by the taxpayer to be fair. But your point is valid and its not just for europe - governments in most developed countries have managed to reduce the services they provide via privatisation while somehow still collecting higher levels of taxation.

Quite a trick.

Even better when you consider they have borrowed truckloads of money to provide those same lower service levels to boot (while at the same time selling the farm)!

[Barra]

Originally Posted by Iaangus

I'm paying less than $1.80 a gallon for gas and under $1.90 a gallon for diesel in midwest USA, (the epicenter of evil Capitalism). Thats about 40% of when crude was over $100 per barrel. The problem as I see it is the Govts. of the world are prohibiting real capitalism by preventing me or anybody else from building my own refinery, buying cheap crude and selling cheap gas. Lack of refining capacity is a governmental problem. There is an old saying, "high prices cure high prices and low prices cure low prices" that is very accurate except when Governments intervene and protect the price gougers.

But crude is over 60% lower so 1/3 has gone into the refiners even there....

Still a better result than here in Australia by quite a ways.

[stefano_ita]

Yep...

Then there is italy were 1 year before of every law to cut expenses for healty and so on, politician, friend, parents, relatives, of them get into the business at the perfect time...But that's another pair of sleeve (as we say here)

Or like cooperatives to help immigrants...or like expo milano 2015...Not really far away from other parts in the world, where maybe people are not aware of all this...

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Barra

But crude is over 60% lower so 1/3 has gone into the refiners even there....

Still a better result than here in Australia by quite a ways.

I'm no apologist for Big Oil by any means, but you need to be realistic.

Factor in that the AUD is only worth 70% of what it was a few years ago in USD. When it was at USD100 pb, you were getting it at around AUD100 pb. At USD36 pb, you are now getting it at AUD50 pb.

And then bear in mind that crude oil cost is only one input into the production of petrol/diesel at the service station pump.

Even if the crude oil were free, you would still have the same freight (in USD), refining and distribution costs, government taxes etc so it is unrealistic to expect the pump price to be directly proportional to the raw material cost.

[stefano_ita]

Originally Posted by StuM

I'm no apologist for Big Oil by any means, but you need to be realistic.

Factor in that the AUD is only worth 70% of what it was a few years ago in USD. When it was at USD100 pb, you were getting it at around AUD100 pb. At USD36 pb, you are now getting it at AUD50 pb.

And then bear in mind that crude oil cost is only one input into the production of petrol/diesel at the service station pump.

Even if the crude oil were free, you would still have the same freight (in USD), refining and distribution costs, government taxes etc so it is unrealistic to expect the pump price to be directly proportional to the raw material cost.

Just a little thought...

When euro dollar was 1,5 usd for 1 euro, so a 150 dollar a barrel for us would have been like 100 usd...We, as european had however the fuel 2 x expensive than usa.