Scott en Aztlán wrote:

> On Tue, 10 May 2005 08:34:35 GMT, "Brimstone" >
> wrote:
>
>
>>>Here in the US the top story recently has been the large upward spike
>>>in gasoline prices. Some have predicted that gasoline will top
>>>$5/gallon by next year, up from $2.50/gallon today. Since you folks in
>>>Europe have had $5/gallon gas for years (thanks to high taxes), what's
>>>happening to gas prices over there in Europe? Are they going to hit
>>>$10/gallon soon? Is the price of gas the top story on your local TV
>>>news?
>>
>>One point that seems to escape many Americans is that Europe is a collection
>>of seperate countries. We all therefore speak different languages and have
>>different ways of doing things, including levying taxes.
>
> So how many European countries have gas prices as low as the United
> States of America? My impression was that high taxes on fuel were one
> common thread that pretty much united all of Western Europe.
>
> Am I wrong?

They are all much higher than in the US. As is fuel in Japan.

But the exact price in Europe varies from country to country as does
preference for petrol/diesel/LPG. Belgium for instance is a diesel
country whereas France tends towards petrol/essence. UK is actually
headed towards diesel now due to changes in company car tax rules.

Price tends to reflect local preferences and as with cars fuel in the UK
is usually more expensive than it is on the continent. Much harder to
drive over the border to fill your car up when you live on an island.

Regards,
Martin Brown