Crude oil, refining, exchange rates and taxes all contribute to the price of fuel. They do not necessarily move together or reach forecourts at the same time.
A change in the world oil price can become a Czech petrol-price headline within minutes. The change at a filling station is rarely so immediate. Between the two sit refining, transport, stocks and the exchange rate.
Oil is traded internationally, commonly in dollars, while drivers in Czechia pay in crowns. Currency movements can therefore reinforce or offset a shift in the underlying commodity price.
Refining has its own market
Crude oil is an input, not a finished motor fuel. Refineries turn it into several products whose demand and availability differ. A shortage of refining capacity or a change in demand for one product can alter margins independently of the crude price.
Taxes account for another part of the final price. Retailers also face transport and operating costs. Those elements help explain why a percentage change in crude does not translate into the same percentage change at the pump.
Timing matters
Stocks purchased earlier and differences between suppliers can slow the transmission of a price move. Comparing one day’s oil quotation with one forecourt price is therefore a poor test of the whole market.
A clearer account follows the chain from the commodity and currency markets through refining and distribution to the final sale.
