the only real, effective (but not easy, close to impossible due to the cartel’s lobbying and resistance) way to up theirs is to switch to electric cars. one wonders why electric cars are sooooo slow in seeing mass market daylight wen it can be done 20yrs ago.

oh did i mentioned cartel?

No problem, just some information sharing here.. We do this all the time, and at the end of the day, just want a best deal to fuel our cars..

Cheers!

Actually my first point was just a lame response to another lame comment further up. Sorry about that.

As for whether crude purchased was on FOB, CIF etc, I believe that was not the driver. Anyway most of the crude used by Exxon, Shell and SRC are FOB from Middle East.

The logic behind all these price movements or non-movements are simple:

1) a petrol station needs to be refilled.
2) competition for market share

As for hedging, all oil majors and oil trading companies (eg Vitol) play with that all the time. However I dont really see how it becomes a key factor in retail price movements here.

And if someone manage to find some info on how the pricing formula or the excise tax on gasoline is like, please share with us.

Happy driving folks

Hedging is normally done via paper derivatives, and usually done either via other companies direct, or via a bank (OTC market)..

For your point 1, actually, doesn’t matter where the cargo is from, and doesn’t matter how long it takes to be delivered to Singapore, because they would have hedged using time spreads (actually, the refinery also takes time to refine the crude into gasoline, but this time lag doesn’t matter as much as the refining margins). Of cos, a contango market or backwardation market would produce different effects on the final prices.. Also, would be dependant if purchase pricing is on FOB, CIF, C&F or DES..

Your point 3 is a good point, our government imposes a levy on our gasoline retail market, so a certain percentage goes to them.. The remaining are profits to the oil biggies after distribution and staff costs..

2. ChevronTexaco, formed after a merger between Chevron (from California) and Texaco (from Texas), owns Caltex. If ChevronTexaco produces Top Tier Detergent Gasoline, what do you think Caltex is selling? What do you think ExxonMobil is selling? Its clear who’s giving the best deals.

3. If a barrel of crude oil (159 Litres) is USD80, and a barrel of gasoline is USD95, then 1L of gasoline is only 85 singapore cents. What happened?

people might not be aware of the increased price until they have already pump up to their full tank.