Record gas price hike

| 30/04/2011

(CNS): Daylight robbery was not confined to the heist at a local George Town restaurant on Thursday when drivers faced a legal hold up at the gas pumps. Fuel station prices jumped by a record 40 cents overnight and gas prices reached as much as $5.98 per gallon on Grand Cayman. With many believing that the international price for oil is set to increase further and no sign that government intends to remove the extra 25 cent duty place on fuel in last year’s budget in its fiscal plans for 20011/12, it’s not just drivers that are in for an expensivesummer. On Cayman Brac which had avoided the 25 cent duty increase prices had reached $5.67 per gallon on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday morning the education minister offered no comfort to the community when he said that government was not in a fiscal position where it could reduce fees and duty when it brings the budget next month.

The latest record breaking 40 cent hike comes on the heels of a 25 cent increase earlier in April a ten cent jump several weeks before that. While the increase spells pain at the pump it will also cause CUC bills to increase significantly and with the cost of doing business going up the consumer will be hit in the stores as well.

On Friday night the crude oilprice passed US$114 per barrel in New York as a result of the weak dollar and the continuing unrest in the Middle East. This latest gas hike may the highest the Cayman Islands has experienced but it is unlikely to be the last before fuel prices come down.
 

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  1. Obese Rat says:

    Wow… if it continues to rise, wewill finally see in the Cayman Islands an unprecedented event. People actually walking!

  2. Anonymous says:

    Where can I purchase a horse?

  3. Frank says:

    I want to know how the government allows gas stations to hike the price on gas that they have already paid for!! Even if they got gas at last weeks price they’re still adding the price increase…in essence screwing us over twice!

  4. cowboy says:

    Finally, with Osama bin Laden’s death, gas prices everywhere should drop!

  5. Goober says:

    3 words: BUY A HORSE.

    Hay is much cheaper than gasoline. 

    Another bonus: when the horses lose their gallop, they taste great on the BBQ.

  6. Shock and Awe says:

    The U.S. Dollar has fallen off a cliff. Traditionally, the U.S. Dollar was used as the world’s Petro Dollar. In other words, if any country were buying petroleum it would pay for it in U.S. Dollars. Just before "Desert Storm", Iraq announced it’s intention, along with Venezuela and others, to cease accepting the U.S. currency for it’s oil and instead switch over to the Euro. Think Desert Storm was about spreading democracy and protecting Kuwait? It was the U.S. flexing it’s muscle for as long as the U.S. dollar was needed by countries to purchase oil, it maintained an artificial value unrelated to how well the economy was doing. All of this is moot of course because we have reached Peak Oil but still the U.S. makes grabs for oil wherever it happens to be. Funny how countries which have oil are in desperate need of democracy think "Operation Freedom" was about ousting Saddam Hussein? Think the War in Afghanistan is about the Taliban? It’s about oil and natural gas. It’s the crude dude. For a very interesting perspective on the entire topic of petroleum, where it is, who wants it, what they’ve done to get it, and what will happen when it’s all gone: The History of Oil on YouTube.

  7. John Champion says:

    CNS, can you just add this addendum to my post…
    Folks, as we spend less, the government gets less and they are forced to cut back.
    First of all, we will see the expensive expats sent home and then the mangement will crumble as their salary is cut.

    Finally, we the people will be in charge. WHERE WE BELONG!!!

    • Elf Lord says:

      In charge of what?  Crumbled management = lucrative business?  I think not.  Expensive expats go home and their clients follow.  You fill in the rest.

  8. John Champion says:

    I trust that everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed the holiday on our beautiful islands. Now how do we keep our beautiful islands given the pathetic state of affairs with rising prices and incompetent politicians?

    Let’s take a step back and look at things again trying to think objectively through our frustration. Most of our problems right nowcan be attributed to the massive size of the government/civil service. A civil service the size of ours should be capable of administering the needs of a population of several million according to the same ratio of civil servants to general public in the UK. Yet, let us honestly stop and think about the numbers and take in the fact that the population is a little under 60,000.

    What has our government given us but inefficiency, waiting in long lines for the most mundane of procedures, difficult people with chips on their shoulders, innaccessible managers and supervisors, high and mighty heads of department who run their own businesses on government time, intimidating, illiterate, ill-mannered tattooed thugs in the police force, immigration and fire service, a pitiful educational system that turns out malcontents, ever increasing fees for everything and poorer and poorer service. I can sum up the state of our government and civil service in one word. SHAMBLES.

    This beast feeds on one thing. YOUR money, and I can assure you that this beast can never be satisfied. As long as we are willing to feed it, its appetite will never be satiated and just like a gluttonous man, what was enough yesterday, is insufficient today. So rather than get angry, it’s time to get wise. We are going to take this government down. As a nation, we are going to pull together and show the rest of the world what can be accomplished when the the people put hand on heart and pull together. No one needs to demonstrate in the street, get arrested or act crazy. We are going to use the law against itself.

    Remember that this beast feeds on YOUR money, so we have to identify where your money feeds the beast and take steps to minimize it as much as possible.

    1. The biggest source of revenue for government is the import duty mainly on food. Please buy local fish, meat, eggs, fruit, vegetables wherever you possibly can. Learn to cook with them, it’s delicious. The more we buy, the more demand goes up and supply will rise to match. Each one of us also has a responsibility to tell our children that tomatoes come from a vine and not a supermarket. Let each one of us plant our own vines, pepper bushes, banana trees, etc. Don’t worry if you don’t have any land, just find some spot out of the way and use it or ask a kind neighbour and offer to share.
    2. Property transfers. The government derives its property tax from property transfers and it is a significant source of income. Right now, it is a horrible time for the property market as it is still vastly OVER-priced. Just hold off now and do NOT buy. You will get 2 benefits. Prices will have to come down and government won’t get your hard earned money.
    3. Gasoline. Trust me, the government makes a massive duty on gasoline, as much as 50%. Hit them where it hurts, right in the wallet. Only drive when necessary. Try not to use aircon as it burns an horrific amount of gas. If you have more than one car, try to drive the car that uses the least gas. Try and share your car with your neighbours for the school runs and take turns to carry each others kids. Perhaps, someone could create a website (CNS?) that invites the gas companies to enter their prices and we all shop at the lowest priced ones. This will absolutely hammer them and they will start pushing back against government for their cut of the pie, as the people will have spoken.
    4. Electricity. The government and CUC are so in bed together, its a wonder they haven’t had kids yet! Every single kw hour that we use costs us around 38c. Now remember that a good generator makes 19kw hours per gallon of diesel which means that a gallon of diesel makes $7.22 in revenue. That will be around $2.00 to the government and the rest to CUC. Well, let’s hit em where it hurts, in the wallet. Let us cut down our power usage nationally. Seriously, you want aircon, you don’t NEED it. I haven’t even used ac yet this year. I keep fit and eat healthy….do you? If the answer is no and you need to burn your ac at 70 degrees, you don’t really belong here or you need to change your habits. In a nutshell, just generally please cut your electricity usage. You will hit the government in the wallet.
    5. Water. In the Caribbean, although we are surrounded by water, our water is like 5c a gallon minimum. The reason why it is so expensve is because the fuel factor is so high. Stop wasting tap water and you will hit the government where it hurts..in the wallet. Tell your family to take shorter showers. Don’t flush the toilet every time you pee, it won’t hurt. Load your dishwasher economically. Cut your irrigation time down. You are striking them hard with every dollar you save.
    6. Entertainment. Everyone needs a little entertainment from time to time. Boycott Dart’s theaters. They are a total rip off. It’s like $4for a water and $5.25 for a small popcorn. Ken Dart, you should be ashamed of your organisation that is screwing the people. Change it….now. Just because a movie comes out today, do you HAVE to see it today. Wait until you can download it or rent it. Make a night of it. Call your friends and family around, Cook up some local food and watch it together.
    7.Church. If you are going to give 10% of your income to an organisation that represents GOD, you had better get some accountability. Challenge your oversight for openness and if you are not satisfied, don’t give any more. Trust me, the churches and government exchange lots of information about you.
    8. Party Time. Do not go to ANY high end restaurants. You know the ones where you pay $10 for a sliver of beef for a starter. It is a ripoff. Its the same piece of beef you can buy yourself. Let the tourists pay. Stop going to the expensive places. You will have more money and be millionaires. Instead of going to expensive places, get the drinks wholesale and have fun at home or at the beach. Help each other with rides home and do not DUI.
    9. Drinking water. This is a huge revenue for government. Drink local water wherever you can and eliminate the imports. Anything imported puts money in the gov’t pocket. Use local water in your house. It is not necessary to cool it, it won’t hurt you.
    10. Love. We need to love each other in these hard times. Love is free and the results are eternal. Love one another.

    My dear friends, I sincerely hope that you can pull together. The message in a nutshell is this. LOVE ONE ANOTHER, SPEND LESS AND DO NOT GET INTO DEBT.

    I love you all and I will be standing at the next elections.

    John

  9. Anonymous says:

     This fine idea by these people who keep saying use less gas really have their heads up their xxxxx.  First of all, how do you propose that we stop the water company, light company, and shipping companies from using fossil fuels?  That’s right Sherlocks..not only do you have to worry about driving which I had cut down on for a long time but there is also your food, water and electricity.

    My solution is stop letting people speculate on gas.  They speculators are driving the gas prices up.

  10. Geoff Small says:

    Is the Cayman gallon Imperial, as we use in the UK or the 20% smaller US gallon? 

    I paid £1.43 a litre for diesel on the A1 on my way from Yorkshire to London on Saturday.   That’s £6.50 a gallon (UK) or £5.42 a gallon (US).  

    At today’s conversion rate that’s either $CI 8.82 or $CI 7.36.  It cost me £84 to fill up!

    I did 11950 miles last year.  Stop moaning! 

  11. Anonymous says:

    Real world calling Cayman.

    In the UK gas is around £1.369 a LITRE!  That’s about CI$8 a gallon by my calculations and I bet my weekly mileage is a heck of a lot more than the average Caymanian’s – in fact in 2010 I did 14,000 miles, mostly in connection with my work.

    Is it hurting our economy? Didn’t look like it over the Easter holidays with the normal gridlocked holiday traffic. Has it cut back on what I do? Not really.

    The cost of filling my car (it is 1.6 litres with a/c and power steering) up has increased from just over £40 to nearly £65 in about 12 months – for that I get between 380 and 400 miles or about 10 days motoring so in real terms my daily motoring expenses have gone up by the cost of a pint of beer. That’s not the end of the world.

    You can blame everybody and anybody for the rises but the bottom line is how much gas costs you depends on what you drive and how you drive it. If you live on a 22-mile long island with no motorways/freeways and low speed limits then run one of the many large American cars, SUVs or pick ups I’ve seen on island don’t bitch about the cost of running it – buy something smaller.

     

    • Anonymous says:

       This is due to the huge tax the UK government has on fuel and not because the price of gas is "high".  So please STOP giving this retarded government more ideas to rip us off!

      Even charging $3 dollars per gallon is a freaking disgrace for something like gasoline.

    • Anonymous says:

      GBP 1.369 = KYD 1.5445 as of 1 May 2011

      1 litre = 3.7854118 gallons

      Now if I count out my grains of sand correctly (there’s a recession – no calculator for me!) I think a gallon of UK petrol comes to KYD 5.847

      So it is cheaper for people living in Cayman to buy petrol in British pumps than Caymanian pumps!

      As for your quesiton “Is it hurting our economy?” – I’m not treating this as a rhetorical question. Yes – yes it is hurting the UK economy.

      Increase in fuel prices are directly attributable to the increase in the rate of inflation (excluding mortgages, I think it’s around 4% – the benchmark is 2%). Coupled with the amount of people struggling to make ends meet, fearful of losing their jobs, struggling to pay their mortgage, not being able to send their kids to university, having their child tax credits reduced etc. – I think it is part of the problem in hurting the conomy (it’s certainly not helping).

      Now this isn’t the end of the world – but at the same time, it certainly isn’t going to create much of a world for the kids in Britain to inherit in 30 odd years time.

      I am a Brit – but I get sick of other Brits preaching their holier than thou attitude when it’s worse where you are

      • Anonymous says:

        Why are we comparing gas prices to England’s gas prices? We don’t get our gas from England. We should be comparing it to the US prices which is anywhere from US$3.25-US$3,89. Now convert that to CI$, apx CI$3.26 maybe a little bit more. Prices in the us are not jumping 40 cents per galleon. Why are we paying almost double price here? This is the question our great government should be answering!

      • Anonymous says:

        I believe that you meant 1 US gallon = 3.7854118 litres.
        In Cayman gasoline stations sell in Imperial gallons (= 4.54609188 litres). However, according to the petroleum inspectorate, one marina dispenses fuel in US gallons.

  12. Anonymous says:

    For what its worth! Don’t the government  realize that its people are  hurting.

    The government need to stop its spend so that they can reduce some of these increases that  they have cast upon the people of these islands.

    People can’t build, spend , or even take a vacation.  It can’t get any worst. We are just like Jamaica.  McKeva – we  the  people need relief.

    • Oh Please says:

      Gas prices has nothing to do with our local government!

    • Anonymous says:

      A tax on fuel is  the most democratic direct tax I can think of. And if you want  to drive a motorized cathedral with a 500 cu inch engine rather than a lawn-mower-engined tin can, that’s your choice. The Government needs the money, so this is one tax I’m happy (-ish) to pay.

      • The lone Haraunger says:

        Also it is a proggressive tax that takes more from rich people because rich have bigger toys, houses boats, cars and therefore use much more energy than poor people.
        Brilliant Sherlock.

  13. Anonymous says:

    Oh boo hoo. You live on a tiny island. Nobody needs a big, heavy car to get from A to B and its really not that far. Buy a scooter.

  14. Anonymous says:

    I personally believe that excessive fuel costs are a major factor in slowing or delaying any economic recovery.

    It is my personal belief that the period of economic prosperity enjoyed by then President Bill Clinton in America occurred largely based upon the stable fuel prices resulting from the successful military intervention of the American led forces in Operation Desert Storm under George H. W  Bush.

    As a result of agreements made in that military intervention there was a decade of plentiful and stable fuel prices which is a fundamental building block to a successfully growing economy.

    To the nay sayers who with great moral authority show great distain at the possible plan tohave a refinery in Cayman I say get used to high fuel prices killing off business and keeping the cost of living extremely high.

    • Anonymous says:

      There is definitely price gauging going on with the gasl prices in the Cayman Islands. Gas is US$3.79 in Miami some places $3.52. This is the same oil and gasoline just different locations or jurisdictions and its all imported from the middle east. Why is the gas so high in Cayman? Ask your elected officials who allow the gas companies to Milk you!

      CI$5.98 is a disgrace and something should be done.l There needs to be some price control. Why is the US gas prices so low do you realize that gas in the Cayman Islands is calculated at US$7-$8 dollars per gallon? This is highway robbery and the legislators must do something about it. If the US can lower theirs then so can Cayman. its the same gas and its all imported into each and ever country.

      • Anonymous says:

        Actually, I am currently in Miami and am paying upwards of US$3.89 – the price is US$4.00 at some places. Please note that those prices are per US gallon whilst Cayman prices are per Imperial gallon which is about 25% more. Obviously it is impossible for us to have US gasoline prices since gasoline is not refined here and must be imported.

        The legislators have done something about it alright – they increased the price by increasing the tax on gasoline

        • The lone haranger says:

          We need to put an additional $2 a gallon tax on all fuel imported into cayman, pay off the national debt and this will make it ecconomical for the private citizens and companies to pursue re-newable energy sources.
          Problems solved. Nuff said !!

    • Anonymous says:

      i agree we need to send our politicians to invade Libya.  Then after their sucessful battle they can bring  us back the oil.

      In the meantime they are not here doing harebrained things.  We Will all be happier.

  15. Anonymous says:

    THIS is a good time for goverment to remove the 25cents that was resently put on gasoline. people are hurting,and this is one way that the goverment can help. come on udp ministers do not think that every body in cayman is comfortable as you all are

    • Warwick Hunt says:

      I think you’ll find this is a very effective and reasonably fair means of raising tax revenues. It’s got to come from somewhere. The distances that need to be driven in Cayman are less than if you lived in a major country, and the duties here are stil less than elsewhere.If you run a boat, now you see what a luxury that can be. We should all consume a little less!

    • The lone Haraunger says:

      There is no free ride buddy, the contry is in debt we have to pay it off, A fuel tax is a very fair tax that no one can avoid and it will derive the majority of the funds from the richer people in our community who use more energy and who can best afford it,

  16. Anonymous says:

    the end is near.

  17. Anonymous says:

     Unfortunately the US dollar is full of crap and in turn so is our currency!  Basically everyone has taken about a 30% to 35% pay cut.

  18. INFORMANT says:

    *** Before people start pointing the finger of blame for increased gas prices, ever heard of the powerful group of 12 called, OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), made up of twelve nations: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. It isthese countries who determine oil prices and worldwide production. Uncle Sam has no sway against this world organization when they sit around a table and decide to flutuate the oil prices for billions of dollars. The oil reserves of Canada, Mexico, and Alaska can never outweigh the reserves of the Arab countries. From what is happening in the Middle East and Libya, let us just say it is OPEC’s way in keeping the United States, her allies, and Israel in check. Whilst Americans are feeling it at the gas pumps, we feel it alot more, because at the end of the day, we have to pay shipping in order to import the gasoline here from the United States.

  19. Anonymous says:

    big deal…. gas like everything else in cayman is a huge rip-off…..thats why cayman is doomed…

  20. petermilburn says:

    Is this a  case of "Justifiable Robbery"?How can the gas stations justfy such large increases especially since they all raise prices even though older gas is still being sold.?

  21. Sunneversets says:

    We don’t need to drive any long distances here, so I don’t really see it as much of a problem.

    • Anonymous says:

      We many not drive much but we do consume a lot of electricity. Can you magine how much the fuel surcharge is going to be on your electricity bill?

    • Bubbles scuba says:

      Are you serious. If the fuel costs more, delivering every thing you buy , eat, drink, has to add this extra cost for being delivered to a place on island. just because you may do five mile a day, look at the bigger picture, every thing wil get more expensive because of high fuel prices, every thing.

  22. John Champion says:

    Folks, I know that many of you are extremely concernedabout what is going on in our beloved Cayman Islands. In the last 35 years, I have seen these precious islands turn from a quiet, sleepy paradise into a sleazy, crime-infested den of thieves, rotten from the top down. (not unlike most place in the world)

    Many of us are finally awakening to the realisation that no amount of complaining and groaning is going to change anything as nothing ever gets done, and the noose appears to tighten every day.

    What can we do? How do we fight back and yet remain legal?
    I am going to leave that question until later when I will post again, but I would love to hear your suggestions.

    Let me leave you with some food for thought until then. In fact, we have gotten the leaders that we deserve. Very few of us have done anything (myself included) as over the years we have allowed the politicians and the lawmakers to take away our power. Ironically, these people have helped themselves to huge salaries and benefits at OUR expense as they have stripped democracy, layer by layer, from us.. I guarantee that if a public march was organised, it would end in an ugly standoff with the police and that is exactly what they want to happen, so don’t get fooled into this.

    No, we were warned about these days and I quote, “Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” and “They that live by the sword will die by the sword.”

    No, my precious, precious Caymanian Brothers and Sisters and humble Expats alike, we must wake up. We can survive this if we really put our hearts and souls into this and work together. There is a way to sweep out our unrighteous leadership and all we have to do is abide by the law, adjust our daily habits and embrace a little more humility and love in our lives. I’ll be back, real soon. In the meantime, remember this, “Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosoms of fools.”

    For those of you in church over the weekend, please ask your pastors about what to do and you will find that they are totally clueless, but just keep putting money in the plate and everything will be fine.

    • Swine says:

      XXX? Anyway…I think the best way to fight this non sense is for us to stop using fossil fuels, and develop sustainable and affordable alternative energy sources, is that what you are getting at? If we all stopped driving, using electricity, and perhaps live in the bushes and eat wild iguanas and chickens (Only things I could think of that we would have enough of to do this) for about a month, that would put a dent in those OPEC SOB’s! If the whole world did something of similarity for long enough, then the oil producing countries would have a XXX fit! Then we could get in to the oil wells and start bailing it for ourselves with buckets!