Minyak oh Minyak

I received a sms from a friend of mine (I know this guy thru Celcom SMS contest) at about 10 p.m. informing me that fuel prices will be hiked by 30cents. My instant reaction was...gosh! must fill up the car before 12 a.m. On second thought, I decided not to leave the comfort of my home and cueing up as if there's no petrol tomorrow. True, those who cued up had saved some money but for me the savings will not compensate the waiting time. Why? For god sake, u are not filling up thousands of litres. In my case I usually buy 30 litres of petrol on my each visit. So a 30cents increase will cost me an additional RM9. That has not taken into account the petrol u waste while waiting.

On a separate note, the fuel hike will definitely has an effect on the economy. Prices of goods will become more expensive (not to mention those unscrupulous traders who will take advantage), cost of living will be on the uptrend and all these factors will increase inflation. U think it ends there? Think again. Higher inflation will lead to a higher interest rate. Those who didn't take my advise last year to opt for Islamic house financing will start to feel the pain. For conventional loans, the current BLR is set at 6.50%. I see no reason it couldn't reach at least 7.00% by end 2006. That has not include the bank's spread (normally BLR + 0.25) so someone will be paying 7.25% by year end. So I would like to congratulate those who took Islamic financing and lock in the fixed rate at 7.00% for 25 or 30 years.

Ok enough on fuel and inflation ramblings. Need to go to watch Sportscenter.

Signing off at 10.00 p.m.