All Columnists articles – Page 9
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Analysis
Ray Blake: PRA technical director
I have just returned from a road trip across Europe in a 52-year old classic car. During the trip we filled the car with petrol 14 times in five different countries France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Italy. Immediately before heading off, I was notified that the guidance from the Petroleum ...
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Analysis
Chris Judge: analysis editor, Argus Media
International oil markets proved remarkably unconcerned about the escalation of the crisis in the vitally strategic Straits of Hormuz, the choke point in the Mideast Gulf for around a fifth of the world’s oil supply. Oil traders were more concerned about the slowdown in the global economy and increasing supply ...
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Analysis
Tracy West: retail commentator
This may sound sad but one of the things I like to do when I am travelling abroad is look out for food and drink that I’ve not seen before. I had a whale of a time doing this on my recent trip to the US. We did a lot ...
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Analysis
Kevin Eastwood: executive director, BOSS
When the new Prime Minister takes office this month, one of my first tasks will be to bring to his attention the proactive approach that fuel retailers have taken to reduce pressure on police resources. For more than 25 years we’ve been working closely with fuel retailers, police, government departments ...
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Analysis
Chris Judge: analysis editor, Argus Media
Simmering tensions between Iran and the US over attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf came to the boil with the downing of a US drone on 20 June, helping to reverse losses for international oil markets at the end of May and in early June. Fuel prices at the ...
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Analysis
James Lowman: chief executive, ACS
As avid readers of Forecourt Trader you will, I’m sure, be aware of new fuel labelling regulations coming into force in the not-so-distant future. Just in case you haven’t, here’s the key information: there are new regulations being introduced which legally require additional labelling on fuel dispensers and nozzles in ...
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Analysis
Tracy West: retail commentator
Mr West and I have just completed a road trip across part of the US. He drove more than 3,000 miles in 11 days across Arizona, Colarado, Nevada, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. It was great fun but also a little hairy as we encountered much more snow than we ...
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Analysis
Brian Madderson: PRA chairman
FairFuel UK together with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Fuel has been lobbying the Treasury to support their proposals for PumpWatch a voluntary code to be adopted by industry, which is designed to bring greater transparency and fairness to pump pricing. No details have been seen at this stage ...
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Analysis
Chris Judge: analysis editor, Argus Media
International crude oil markets slumped on May 31 after US President Trump proposed tariffs on all goods from Mexico "until the illegal immigration problem is remedied". The falls were triggered by the increasing threat of global recession and subsequent effect on oil demand. Global equity markets were already falling and ...
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Analysis
Alexander Russell: consultant, Car Wash Association (CWA)
The government’s response to modern slavery in the UK has been woefully lacklustre, despite a recent hard-hitting investigation by Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) into hand car washes (HCWs) which acknowledged the sheer scale of the problem and the lack of enforcement of existing regulations that might help prevent it. ...
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Analysis
Stephen Marcos Jones: director general, UKPIA
Hardly a day goes by without a newspaper headline telling us about the next big thing in the world of transport. Artificial Intelligence. Driverless cars. Real-time data sharing with other road users. Deliveries bringing fuel direct to your home or business. Low-carbon fuels, both liquid and non-liquid, hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon. ...
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Analysis
Tracy West: retail commentator
I’m as happy to do my bit for the planet as the next person, however I do feel that some companies are rushing through changes without properly researching them first. Take McDonald’s. I love a McDonald’s milkshakemmmm. But, when I had one the other day, imagine my displeasure when the ...
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Analysis
Ray Blake: PRA technical director
When talking to forecourt operators on the ’Roadside Fuel Recovery Standard’ (RFRS) stand at The Forecourt Show a couple of weeks ago, there was one fact they all found most surprising. It was that despite the customer who had mis-fuelled paying for the remediation service, they were legally responsible to ...
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Analysis
Chris Judge: analysis editor, Argus Media
The US government surprised the oil markets by ending waivers on sanctions against Iran, pushing prices to new 2019 highs and exacerbating a global supply crisis for sour crude oil. Pump prices for petrol were more than 4ppl higher than a year ago and climbing steadily. Benchmark Brent crude futures ...
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Analysis
Tracy West: retail commentator
The ’bah humbug’ brigade, typically active at Christmas time, are now out for Easter. Pre-Easter stories in the mainstream media are usually about how over-priced Easter eggs are when you compare their chocolate content to bars that are available all-year-round. In the past there has also been chuntering about packaging ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
Beneath all the excruciating political noise and in spite of it life goes on. And forecourts are in the fortunate position of being an essential part of that daily life. People still need to get to work, they need to refuel, buy breakfast, coffee, lunch, a few groceries and everything ...
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Analysis
Kevin Eastwood: executive director - BOSS
When it comes to non-payment on forecourts, experience tells us that some motorists do make genuine mistakes and it’s important to respect customers inadvertently caught in a difficult situation. These can be rectified if accurate information is collected by retailers so that repayments can be made within a reasonable timeframe. ...
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Analysis
Chris Judge: analysis editor, Argus Media
The steady gains for crude oil in 2018 continued through March and UK motorists are now feeling the pinch at the pump, as Opec maintained solid discipline containing output. Benchmark Brent crude oil futures ended March at $68.39/bl, gaining $2.36/bl on the month and are now up by nearly $15/bl ...
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Analysis
James Lowman: chief executive, ACS
We’ve just launched our 2019 Crime Report, and it’s another shocking insight into the extent and frequency of crime against our sector. Let’s start with the financial impact: crimes committed against the convenience sector cost an estimated £246m over the past year, equivalent to over £5,300 for every store in ...
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Analysis
Tracy West: retail commentator
If thousands of your customers were asked to rate your store for things like appearance, queuing time, range of products and value for money, how do you think you’d do? Well, Which? has just published a survey where 12,000 consumers had to rate supermarkets across those categories and more. Asda ...