why is the gas price so different between US and Lebanon

[Dracula Girl]

I have a classmate from Lebanon who said that gas there is $6 a gallon. Why is it so much higher there than here?

[keith]

I have a classmate from Lebanon who said that gas there is $6 a gallon. Why is it so much higher there than here?
It is about the same price here in the UK. I don't have a ready answer but for the rest of us outside the US we ask it the other way around - how come gas is so cheap in America? Here in the UK it is heavily taxed and we are being 'encouraged' out of our cars and onto public transport. If I drive into my nearest big city - London - I pay a congestion charge ie a day entry fee just to drive through the centre of town. Apparently Boston has been watching with interest to see if they might introduce it there. Don't say you were not warned! :smile:

[Solly]

Perhaps Lebanon is not a refiner, and has to import it all, as we do in the UK. And what is the economy like in lebanon, their price inflation etc.

[{Tim}]

How much is a gallon?

[Solly]

8 pints

Here is the european prices for may 04
http://www.see-search.com/business/fuelandpetrolpriceseurope.htm

[{Tim}]

8 pintsOh wow, thanks! I have no idea what a gallon is, but of course I must know how much a pint is. :doh:

Never mind... I'd have to work out the exchange rates anyway. But if any one else wants to, the prices in Brisbane ATM are around 80-90c per litre... IIRC a gallon's around 5L... so that's about A$4.50 a gallon then. Whatever that is in $US at the moment... :shrug:

Edit: According to an online currency converter, that's about $3.50 US.

[Solly]

Sorry, didn't realise what you meant. We are about 80p a litre over here near me. That's about $1.40-$1.50, so about $6 a gallon.

[{Tim}]

Joan, what are the prices in the US anyway?

[Teallaura]

Hi! Varies by region. In the Southeast - $1.70 - $1.90 a gallon (I paid $1.82 yesterday). It's usually higher in the West (esp. California), but it's below $2.00/gallon to the best of my knowledge. I'd estimate about a quarter of that is in tax.

Of course, we have some domestic sources and our own refineries to help keep costs down, but there's also the 'don't rock the boat' factor - the US has the agricultural capacity to shift to ethanol if consumers get too irritable about prices (we've done ethanol before - lower oil prices + concerns about engine wear finally killed it - but it still has quite a few fans). Since oil companies aren't gung ho about ethanol (lower profits) they don't want gas prices steep enough to get people looking for alternatives.

Later!

[Rubia Warren]

I'm in Indiana, I just paid like $1.80-something yesterday at the pump. I think. :blush:

[Dracula Girl]

Dang, I want to live where you guys live. We pay on average about $2.35 maybe. I have seen a lot of $2.55s and a few 2.05s-which is the lowest I have seen in years. You really pay less than a $2.00??? wow.

It will also vary within the day sometimes. My history prof. was saying that he has driven to campus and seen one price on the nearest gas station, and another price listed there on his way back only a couple of hours later.

[DivineOb]

I have seen prices in the $2.30-$2.50 range lately out here in california (for the cheapest grade). However, gas in california is higher than the rest of the country due to some misguided environmental laws that results in gas used in this state being different from the rest of the country, which adds something like 10% to the cost. Don't really know the details on that though, exactly.

[CatholicSage]

Normal price is about $2.00 here in suburban Chicago.

BTW, as for the original topic, I believe it is because the US refines quite a bit of the crude oil out there, which most countries do not do.

[bar Jonah]

Gas prices are so low here because we live in an evil, oppressive, empirialistic, captalist economy that seeks to destroy the planet.

Where've you been?

[Sheepdog]

Gas prices are so low here because we live in an evil, oppressive, empirialistic, captalist economy that seeks to destroy the planet.

Where've you been?

we also convert babies into gasoline.

[Ryokan]

It is about the same price here in the UK. I don't have a ready answer but for the rest of us outside the US we ask it the other way around - how come gas is so cheap in America? Here in the UK it is heavily taxed and we are being 'encouraged' out of our cars and onto public transport. If I drive into my nearest big city - London - I pay a congestion charge ie a day entry fee just to drive through the centre of town. Apparently Boston has been watching with interest to see if they might introduce it there. Don't say you were not warned! :smile:
If as many people drove in Europe as the US, you guys would have trouble. I think it makes since for Boston, too. Heck, I wish we here in Cincinnati, Ohio had built a public rail system, but you know how democracy is.

[Ryokan]

In truth, I think its mostly the taxes that make a difference.

[docjam]

I went to Brazil last summer on a mission's trip and it was almost $5.00/gallon there. That's a rough estimate though cuz they use liters and the whole money exchang ratio thingy...gee-whiz, why can't everyone simply just convert everything they do to make us Americans happy and our lives easier