WORLD GASOLINE PRICES WORLD GASOLINE PRICES Gas prices on April 17 or 18. Data for EU countries were provided by the AA Motoring Trust. Prices are listed in U.S. dollars United Kingdom $8.37 Netherlands $7.52 Norway $7.33 Belgium $6.95 Denmark $6.95 Germany $6.72 Portugal $6.65 Finland $6.57 France $6.50 Sweden $6.50 Hungary $5.63 Poland $5.63 Slovakia $5.59 Austria $5.40 Ireland $5.40 Slovenia $5.36 Switzerland $5.17 Spain $5.14 Czech Republic $5.10 Greece $4.91 Italy $4.80 Lithuania $4.72 Latvia $4.61 Estonia $4.30 Luxembourg $4.27 Japan $4.16 United States $2.88 Kazakhstan $2.75 Russia $2.68 Mexico $2.38 China $2.19 Nigeria $1.92 Saudi Arabia $0.45 Venezuela $0.19 Digg



del.icio.us



Newsvine



Reddit



Facebook LONDON  Motorists around the world have been paying more for their gasoline over the past month as falling U.S. stocks of the motor fuel have helped to drive up global oil prices. Although prices have eased this week, worries persist over tight fuel supply ahead of the U.S. summer driving season starting in late May after government data issued on Wednesday showed gasoline stocks there down for the 10th week running. "The simple cause every year really is just this inability in the U.S. refining system to produce sufficient gasoline for the summer months," said Ray Holloway, director of the Petrol Retailers Association. "It started a little earlier this year in the European market because of the problem with fuel quality in the U.K. That just brought forward the expected price increase," Holloway said. Silicon contamination in gasoline damaged thousands of vehicles in the U.K in late February and early March. According to figures released by Britain's Automobile Association (AA) on Wednesday, the cost of unleaded gasoline generally rose in March and this week the price hit $8.37 a gallon in the U.K, where a gallon is equivalent to 1.2 U.S. gallons. "Price pressure will continue to build until the middle of August, because this year we have started from a higher threshold and crude oil is under pressure because of instability," said Holloway. Drivers in the United States may wince over their seemingly high gasoline prices, but American retail fuel costs are positively inexpensive in light of what motorists elsewhere have to pay. In the United States last month the average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline was $2.87, according to worldwide March fuel price data published Wednesday by the U.K.'s Automobile Association. Contrast that to the adjusted $7.35 it costs Norwegians for a gallon of unleaded, or the $8.37 Britons pay for their petrol, and the American costs are tame. In the Netherlands drivers pay the equivalent of $7.52 per gallon, more than twice the American average. Of the 26 European countries quoted in the AA data, none paid less per gallon on average than the United States. According to Reuters data, gasoline prices were lower than in the United States only in countries where government subsidies play a significant part in cutting prices at the pump. In Russia, where the government still occasionally tries to cap prices and control consumer gasoline costs, a gallon of gasoline costs a Muscovite the equivalent of $2.78. To put this in perspective, the average monthly salary in Russia is 11,000 rubles, or $426. To fill up the 32-gallon tank of a 2006 Hummer H2 in Moscow would cost $88 — more than 20% of a Russian's monthly take-home pay. Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited. Click for Restrictions. Share this story: Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook Enlarge By Shannon Stapleton, Reuters Gas prices at a Shell station in Great Neck, N.Y. They look bad to Americans, but maybe not others. Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.