oil prices

What is significant about current oil prices is we are prepared and able to pay them. Despite doubling in price in the past year, our economies are still running, people are still going to work and school, food is still being delivered, holidays had. What this really means is we were paying at most half the worth of fuel a year ago; after all, something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it and, we are willing to pay double what we were paying last year. Take into account the crumbling US dollar and the fact that most tax on fuel in the UK is fixed at a nominal rate and we aren't paying double at the pumps, but we are still paying a good 30% more than this time last year.

The Prime Minister has moaned at OPEC for not producing more oil in order to bring prices down. Will he be capping the prices charged for North Sea oil? Demanding increased output? Reducing fuel duty? No. Brown wants the extra money just as much as OPEC countries do. And higher prices means higher revenues from North Sea oil. There's also the fact that we don't have a shortage of fuel, but we also don't have extra capacity in our refineries. Saudi Arabia - the only OPEC member that could increase output - could pump millions more barrels out but we couldn't use them because we can't refine them. Brown's demand on OPEC is hollow retoric with undertones of racism. Higher prices are okay for Gordon so long the economy isn't stalled by them and he's the benificiary rather than Arabs, Russians, Nigerians or Venuzualians maximising their profits.