Why is diesel more expensive than petrol?
The principal reason, in the united kingdom atleast, is that Diesel (or DERV if you want to call it that) has more tax imposed on it due to environmental concerns about its use. Diesel as a fuel produces large amounts of ‘hydro-carbon emissions’ which are very very bad for you, me and the other creatures and life forms that inhabit this little blue marble of ours. Diesel is in fact a very cheap fuel to produce due to it being a by product of the petrol refineing process. However you can always run your Diesel engine on pretty much any type of oil, vegitable based cooking oils are the bestm mixed with ethenol to thin the mixture and decrease the compression at which it detonates.
In North America, at least, less diesel is produced per unit of crude oil than gasoline. I understand the prevailing refining process in Europe has the reverse. Regardless, demand for diesel is less flexible than for “petrol.” A trucking company can’t just stop driving, a railroad can’t just stop their trains, generators can’t just stop running, buses and light rail, if anything, have to increase as gasoline gets more expensive. Also, diesel is close to jet fuel, which is also relatively inflexible in the short term, so yields of one might affect yields of the other. Prices go up a little on gasoline, and people drive a little less, carpool a little more, and pressure comes off the prices. Prices rise on diesel, and those who can afford it pay more, those who can’t go out of business.
