This was reported on various online news sites, such as The Star Online : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/5/nation/8611879&sec=nation
Looking at the trend:-
- 2nd Nov 2010 - RM2.15 per liter
- 1st Dec 2010 - RM2.30 per liter
- 5th Jan 2011 - RM2.40 per liter
- 1st Feb 2011 - RM2.50 per liter
- 2nd April 2011 - RM2.70 per liter
- 5th May 2011 - RM2.90 per liter
Plotting this on a popular spreadsheet program, we can see a strong linear trend:-
You'd expect that with the strengthing of the Malaysian Ringgit against the US Dollar, prices should be coming DOWN, especially since the unsubsidized RON97 is supposed to float with market prices. Perhaps not enough to offset the rising cost of oil per barrel : http://www.oil-price.net/
Well, if things keep going the way they are, then by next month, the price of RON97 would surely breach the RM3.00 barrier. For now, there are no indications that RON95 and Diesel would follow suit, though announcements like these are only made hours before the actual price hike, so it's anyone's guess for now.
I guess that sales of RON97-exclusive cars like the Civic Type R might be affected in the long run, especially the 2nd hand market (you can buy a 2nd hand Type R, but can you afford to keep it running?).
I guess that on the bright side, the weakening US Dollar and the apparent increase in crude oil prices should benefit companies like Petronas, so hopefully some of the windfall comes back to the Malaysian public. Since freight transportation does not use RON97, there should be no impact on the cost of goods - nonetheless some unscrupulous people might take this opportunity to increase prices to make more profit.
Well, what can we do, but hang in tight and weather the storm, and pray that it doesn't get much worse....
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