§ Mr. Muddasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will list the latest available comparisons of retail prices, expressed in £ sterling, of petrol and heavy fuel oil for Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, both exclusive and inclusive of tax and duty, and taking account of the measures announced in the Budget.
§ Mr. David HowellThe latest available estimates of indicative consumer prices are as follows:
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Retail petrol* (penceI gallon) Heavy fuel oil† (£/tonne) Net Inclusiveof taxand duty Net Inclusive of duty Belgium 77 159 109.3 109.3 Denmark 70 158 108.2 ‡136.2 FR Germany 73 131 108.3 111.5 France 71 154 102.6 102.7 Ireland 69 140 102.1 114.6 Italy 68 175 99.2 99.6 Netherlands 73 143 101.4 104.3 United Kingdom 69 151.5 94.9 102.9 * Estimated model price. † Estimated average price small industrial consumers—up to 24,000 tonnes per annum. ‡ In Denmark heavy fuel oil duty is rebated in full to VAT-;registered traders. The net price is the effective consumer price. Sources: United Kingdom estimates by the Department of Energy. Other estimates from EEC Commission.
Difficulties arise in making international comparisons in times of changing prices and currency fluctuations. There can, moreover, be a wide range of prices within countries, and methods of collating data may not always be similar.