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Was it just a couple of months back when local TV news treated the increases in gas prices as a major story, a crippling story, a story with lots of !!!! marks and CAPITAL LETTER headlines and Sonorous Voices? I mean, the cost of a gallon of gasoline was nearing the $4 mark, and gee whiz, that had to mean somethning really baaaad. Er, right? Well, it's now July and gasoline prices have fallen - a lot. OK, it's still over three bucks a gallon in many places, but nobody seems to be paying attention now that the numbers are sliding now down instead of skyrocketing up. (The federal government's latest survey has a gallon of self-serve regular in L.A. average $3.116 a gallon, down from $3.153 a week ago and $3.381 on May 28.) A study in Foreign Policy magazine provides some much-needed perspective on pump prices - specifically that they're all over the map, depending on subsidy and taxation policies. Filling the 13.2-gallon tank of a 2007 Honda Civic could be as cheap as $1.06 in Turkmenistan and as expensive as $93.98 in Turkey. In the U.S., it's $31.42, a relative bargain.
Gasoline prices are based largely on the price of crude oil, but refining costs, distribution, and taxes also add to the tab. Some governments, such as Venezuela and Iran, pick up much of the bill through subsidies. But as the price of crude has risen, many countries have abandoned subsidies in favor of higher gas taxes. Indonesian motorists have perhaps been hit hardest: Gas prices there have increased a whopping 238 percent since 2000.
COUNTRY COST
--Turkmenistan $1.06
--Venezuela $1.45
--Iran $4.49
--Saudi Arabia $8.05
--Indonesia $28.51
--United States $31.42
--China $34.45
--Mexico $36.96
--Russia $38.41
--Brazil $62.96
--France $73.92
--Britain $81.44
--Turkey $93.98
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.