Fwd: [Peakoil]

[Antony Barry]

Begin forwarded message:

>
> Tony
>
> Can you put this on the Peak Oil list please? I'm not at my own  
> computer.

> Ta, Jenny
>
> High petrol prices bite sales
> By Joseph Kerr
>
> August 31, 2006 07:03am
>
> Article from: The Australian
> RECORD petrol prices have forced drivers off the road, with  
> national fuel sales suffering their biggest slump in three decades.
>
> Motorists bought almost 200 million litres less petrol in the June  
> quarter compared with the same period last year as bowser prices  
> passed $1.40 a litre in most capital cities.
>
> It is the first strong evidence that record petrol prices are  
> starting to change motorists' behaviour despite a buoyant economy  
> and increased appetite for consumer spending.
>
> Motoring groups last night seized on figures from the Bureau of  
> Transport and Regional Economics, which show automotive fuel sales  
> in the June quarter down 5 per cent on the same period last year,  
> as evidence of how high prices were biting.
>
> Motorists this week got the first glimmer of an end in sight, with  
> analysts backing Prime Minister John Howard's hope that prices will  
> fall back to about $1.15 by Christmas.
>
> But as the Government continues to sell its LPG conversion plan to  
> get some motorists off petrol, the data shows an even greater drop  
> in fuel sales for the Christmas period last year.
>
> In the June quarter, 4597megalitres of fuel were sold, down from  
> 4791mL in the same period last year. The BTRE data shows petrol  
> sales tend to peak in December quarter but the December 2005 figure  
> of 4892mL was well down on the December 2004 quarter's 5223mL.
>
> "The soaring price of petrol over the past year has clearly hurt  
> Aussie consumers," said CommSec chief equities economist Craig James.
>
> "Spending on luxury items has been pared back while motorists have  
> driven their cars less often and shorter distances.
>
> "Not only has spending on fuel fallen by a record margin over the  
> past year, but fuel sales in the past quarter were at the lowest  
> levels seen in almost five years.
>
> "The reaction by consumers to higher petrol prices is  
> understandable. The price of petrol has gone up, and people have  
> revised their driving and spending habits."
>
> NRMA motoring and services president Alan Evans said the figures  
> confirmed how badly motorists had been affected.
>
> "People have really been hit," he said. "That discretionary travel  
> is the main thing that's been hit."
>
> Tourism statistics for late last year showed people were cutting  
> back their travel, particularly of the touring variety, with  
> tourism numbers down about 9 per cent.
>
> But despite the higher prices, people still had the same amount to  
> spend, Mr Evans said, and they were doing whatever they could to  
> conserve fuel.
>
> The July income tax cuts encouraged consumers to lift their overall  
> spending, taking advantage of department store sales. The latest  
> retail trade figures, released yesterday, show sales are continuing  
> to trend upwards despite the global oil shock and repeated interest  
> rate rises striking homeowners.
>
> After increases of 0.6 per cent in May and 0.5 per cent in June,  
> the Australian Bureau of Statistics trend figures show a further  
> increase of 0.5 per cent in July.
>
> In seasonally adjusted terms, sales rose 0.6 per cent after a 0.9  
> per cent rise in June, with department stores considered the major  
> contributor to the increase.
>
>
> Message sent using UebiMiau 2.7.2

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