Debate has heated up again over whether gasoline prices have become unaffordable following Bloomberg's recent report that listed China fourth on a list of countries where gas prices brought the most pain for car owners.Leading business and financial news provider Bloomberg has recently released a list ranking 55 countries by their average fuel price and by "pain at the pump," which is measured by the percentage of average daily income needed to buy a gallon of fuel.

The pain index is based on calculating Chinese people's average daily income as $16 and the daily gas consumption accounting for 34 percent of it.

The report has echoed the sentiments of many Chinese car owners who have been complaining about the continually rising gas prices.

In Beijing for example, gasoline prices rose from 7,350 yuan ($1,170) per ton in June 2008 to 10,380 yuan per ton in April, a hike of 41.22 percent.

Besides, with the unproportional relation between fuel price and average daily income, Thailand has been ranked as the sixth country in the world where people are suffering from "pain at the pump", with fuel priced at 4.96 dollars/gallon in relation to an average daily income of 16 dollars.

Norwegians pay the highest amount of money for fuel, at 9.69 dollars/gallon, followed by Denmark (9.37 dollars/gallon), Italy (9.35 dollars/gallon), Netherlands (9.35 dollars/gallon) and Greece (9.23 dollars/gallon). However, the countries which tops the fuel price list are not those suffering most from the soaring rate given the high income per capita.

The number one country on Bloomberg's "pain at the pump" list is India, where the fuel price is deemed slightly high at 6.06 dollars/gallon in comparison with the average daily income of only 4.50 dollars. The low income combined with the pricey fuel has resulted in the country's energy poverty and the people's limited access to electricity and clean energy.

Source: Globaltimes, Thainews