Oh those crazy Americans

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7566566.stm



I don't see how praying will force the oil companies to lower their prices.

It amazes me people in the world are that deluded. It's actually pretty scary. x

Ha another non-believer, surely that group don't believe because they have been praying the economy is going tits up? if there is a god he wouldn't be so self-fish to grant the prayer of chaper petrol whilst potentially putting thousands out of business in other industries.

"We don't have anybody else to turn to but God,"

Sorry but he is not listening to you, he is too busy sorting through the billions of prayers from the people in third world countries.

BBC News wrote:A prayer group in Washington DC is claiming the credit for the recent sharp drop in the US price of petrol.

Probably that, and falling oil prices?

Holy crap!

How are oil prices falling now? More fields being found or the oil companies being nice?

El Diablo Rojo 52 wrote:How are oil prices falling now? More fields being found or the oil companies being nice?

"The solution to high prices is high prices."

People use less petrol when the price is more expensive because they can't afford to. Causes a drop in demand whilst the supply remains steady meaning the price drops to reflect this. The free market at work.

Of course the simplest way to get prices down in UK petrol stations is to take away a big chunk of the fuel duty tax but Labour would never do that as they love to spend spend spend and can't really cut taxes anywhere, at least not without raising them somewhere else.

Cubeamania wrote:

El Diablo Rojo 52 wrote:How are oil prices falling now? More fields being found or the oil companies being nice?

"The solution to high prices is high prices."

People use less petrol when the price is more expensive because they can't afford to. Causes a drop in demand whilst the supply remains steady meaning the price drops to reflect this. The free market at work.

Of course the simplest way to get prices down in UK petrol stations is to take away a big chunk of the fuel duty tax but Labour would never do that as they love to spend spend spend and can't really cut taxes anywhere, at least not without raising them somewhere else.

Ah so it's a catch 22 for the oil companies? They can't lower prices because it wouldn't meet production costs or expected profits and they can't raise it too high because then no one will buy it? Maybe they're trying to find the middle ground?

El Diablo Rojo 52 wrote:

Cubeamania wrote:

El Diablo Rojo 52 wrote:How are oil prices falling now? More fields being found or the oil companies being nice?

"The solution to high prices is high prices."

People use less petrol when the price is more expensive because they can't afford to. Causes a drop in demand whilst the supply remains steady meaning the price drops to reflect this. The free market at work.

Of course the simplest way to get prices down in UK petrol stations is to take away a big chunk of the fuel duty tax but Labour would never do that as they love to spend spend spend and can't really cut taxes anywhere, at least not without raising them somewhere else.

Ah so it's a catch 22 for the oil companies? They can't lower prices because it wouldn't meet production costs or expected profits and they can't raise it too high because then no one will buy it? Maybe they're trying to find the middle ground?

Not really. It's how every economy works. Prices rise and fall (for both the consumer and the supplier) until it reaches a point where the supplier is happy to sell its stuff and the consumer is happy to buy it. If the price is too high, suppliers will be eager to sell because they get more money but the consumer won't want to buy because it costs too much. If the price is too low, then it's the other way round and while the consumer will be eager to buy, the supplier won't want to sell because they're not making as much.

It's a 'natural' movement rather than a case of trial and error.