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There are many good things about owning a car; putting gas in it is not part of it.
Given that gasoline prices are currently around $ 1.60 / L for the 91 unleaded in Australia, most drivers would agree that things get pretty expensive.
But what makes the essence so expensive and who earns money from the bowser?
It all starts with oil
Australia usually supplies oil from Asia or Africa.
Any price change, which at the time of writing was worth about $ 66 USD a barrel, changes the amount you pay at the bowser.
Because oil barrels (about 159 liters) are sold in US dollars, the exchange rate also plays a role, according to Peter Khoury of the NRMA.
"The stronger the Australian dollar, the better for motorists, because we can buy more fuel, have a better bank for our money," he said. Hack.
Once this oil has been purchased, it must be refined and shipped where it needs to go, which also increases costs. Then the servos take a cut.
"On average, they are making about 12 cents a liter over last year, and this year they have been above normal and about 16 cents," said Peter.
It's just an average though. Peter says that some independent servos could add only a few cents per liter while larger chains could make you lose more than 20 cents.
Australia also has an excise on fuel, which is added to the service station.
"This is the tax collected by the government.It is collected by the seller of material, so that every time you fill 41 cents represents excise on fuel, you must also add the GST "said Peter.
He added that since the beginning of the year, the government has removed $ 17 billion from the gas tax, and plans to spend 38% of that money on roads and public transit.
When you add up all these numbers, that's why your fuel costs what it costs.
Do we have control?
Not really.
"The factors that make prices so high are global, we are completely powerless to try to dictate or change these factors," said Peter.
The price of our fuels is not so bad compared to other parts of the world, as we pay more than the Americans, our gasoline is cheaper than Europe's.
"The only reason for this is that we pay more taxes than Americans and less taxes than Europeans, but on top of that, Americans are the biggest oil producers, which gives them the ability to store more fuel and gives them protection against price volatility.
"Against the countries of the OECD [our fuel prices] are about in the middle. "
So should I give up cheap fuel?
Never give up on your dreams! Even though we do not have much control, everything is not lost.
"There are things we can do locally," said Peter.
It shows New South Wales, where fuel prices are available via a real-time application.
"This means that the public has the power to access the app, look at their area, find the cheapest gas station and refuel.
"Things like that, that give more information to the community, can go a long way."
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