Global Food/Fuel prices

[attie]

Things are not looking to good for us in general are they?
The stats say that our food prices have risen 40% over the last two years and fuel prices up by around 50% in the past twelve months. We have also had 13 interest rate rises over the past 18 months and house prices up avv. 20% over the same period, so things are getting tight.
The hospitality industry is the first to suffer, people can't afford to eat out and there's no end in sight by the looks of it.

The only glimmer of light as I see it is that the operators not giving quality service are dropping by the wayside, perhaps these conditions will make some lift their game, and it could be a blessing in disguise for others.

It's a shame cars don't run on milk, it's cheaper than petrol now

 

[Katie H]

It's a shame cars don't run on milk, it's cheaper than petrol now

They're running neck-and-neck where Buck and I live, attie.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Gas has surpassed milk here....and the fun part...it's just the beginning.

 

[MexicoKaren]

Yes, I think that Uncle Bob is right. Things have changed, and I don't think they will change back. UB - you and I were fortunate to grow up and spend most of our lives in a world full of accessible and cheap consumer goods/food. Our children and grandchildren will have to manage their lives differently. This is not intended to be a "doomsday" forecast - just that these changes are of a global nature, and have a momentum of their own.

 

[Maverick2272]

I was watching a BBC program the other night that said the reason prices would continue up even if demand fell was because they say we have passed the half way point on using up the oil reserves of the world. Supposedly, at todays consumption rates, we have about 100 years of oil left. Since that means from this time forward the amount of oil in the world will be dropping, the price won't.
Personally, I think it has more to do with speculators and greed than that. It is all about supply and demand, keep the supply from getting too high keeps demand up and keeps the price over inflated.

 

[knight76]

So what are fuel prices where you live?

Here near sydney it averages to about $1.60 ($1.53 USD) per litre.

With exchange rate and conversion to gallons that makes it about $5.79USD per gallon.

 

[Maverick2272]

Right now regular unleaded is averaging around $4.29.9 per gallon.

 

[GotGarlic]

I paid $3.83/gallon on Friday.

 

[MexicoKaren]

I think I already posted this on another thread, but fuel prices here are phenomenally low: works out about $2.20 USD per gallon. That's because (1) Mexico is energy self-sufficient, and has the 9th largest oil reserves in the world; and (2) there is NO foreign investment in the Mexico oil industry, which was nationalized in 1938.

It's not as great as it sounds, however - the Mexican government has used oil revenues for all sorts of things except reinvestment. The current wells are running dry and they have not apparently invested in new exploration or new refining capabilities. It is a matter of great controversy here that foreign capital might eventually be needed. Mexicans are proud people, and they want to retain exclusive ownership of their oil.

 

[attie]

Last week :-
Saudi Arabia 18 cents AU a litre
Iran 3 cents AU a litre
Indonesia something like 19 cents AU a litre
It doesn't cost anymore to pump the stuff out of the ground then it did two years ago so someones making a killing

I've seen a few interesting docco's on Dubai, wow!, what a place to be. They say they are diversifying in to tourism because they expect their oil to run out by 2115/16, smart move.

Restaurants work on fine margins, the staff pay is poor compared to other trades, so there is no room to move. It's going to be a hard call for some over the next few years just to survive. We have the added problem of rent rises to cover our interest rate hikes. The Fish and Chip shop we have just left has a rent increase from $140 sq/m to $355 sq/m for the new tenants, the average rent increase around here this year has been 100% thanks to the greedy landlords.

 

[redkitty]

Its hoovering around $4 per gallon in San Francisco. Painful!

 

[Jcas]

In tasmania, it's 1.60 per litre, and going higher so they say.

that equals about 6.00 per gallon i think

 

[Cath4420]

$7.42 per gallon US

For all of the aussies on the thread, I equated it yesterday and it works out to be US $7.42 per gallon for us at $1.65 which is what I am paying here at the moment.

The fact that the price can change by 15c in 5 days is what irks me.