Carl D wrote on Nov 7
th, 2021 at 11:51am:
Wonder if there's any truth to the rumour I heard last week that the reason why petrol prices are now so high is because the oil companies are trying to make up for the losses they've incurred with the downturn in the aviation industry worldwide since the start of the Covid pandemic by now ripping off motorists?
Wouldn't surprise me one bit.
Governments don't/won't care of course since they're raking in all of that lovely fuel tax.
Fossil fuel prices have spiked partly due to
supply problems in the now (back to pre-covid) rapidly growing economy, after the end of covid-enforced lockdowns.
But also due to the failure of governments beholden to fossil companies to roll-out renewables fast enough to avoid power black-outs in the UK, EU and China owing to unusual climate related events eg lack of wind to drive UK's offshore wind farms, and attempts to limit CO2 emissions in China, in the face of unusually early arrival of cold weather.
Central banks will of course take exactly the wrong approach to this resulting increase in fuel and related prices, and raise interest rates...which will result in a recession. So far the RBA is resisting bullying by bond vigilantes** who are betting on interest rate rises
**Vigilantes who assume their false 'inflation' narrative will force the RBA to act.