21 May 2012
Pump prices have finally fallen – after the AA first called for prices to drop a month ago – with Z cutting the price of petrol 4 cents per litre, and diesel 3c. It’s the first price change in 10 weeks, and the first price drop since early February. It’s also the longest period that motorists have ever paid so much – $2.20/litre – for petrol. While petrol prices peaked at $2.22/litre in May 2011, that lasted less than a week – the previous longest run was a month on $2.19/litre in early 2011. The highest diesel price was $1.92/litre for 10 days in 2008.
20 April 2012
What’s happening with fuel prices? There’s been no change in pump prices for just over a month (since 14 March), but Brent oil prices have dropped about US$10/barrel (8%) in the meantime. By comparison, the commodity price for refined petrol has only fallen about US$2/barrel (1.7%) in that time. With the NZ$ largely unchanged, that means the imported cost of petrol has fallen about 2 cents per litre since the last price rise (and diesel down 3c). Even so, it would be nice for the fuel companies to pass that saving onto motorists at the pump.At current commodity prices, the imported cost of petrol makes up just under half of the price of a litre of petrol ($1.08/litre) – and taxes another 89 cents. By comparison, the imported cost of diesel is $1.09/litre, so if excise tax was included in the price of diesel, as it is in petrol (instead of RUC), the retail price of diesel would be $2.21/litre (including GST).
15 March 2012
Fuel prices rose for the first time in a fortnight on 14 March, with petrol up 3 cents per litre and diesel up 2c. At $2.20/litre for 91 octane, petrol prices are perilously close to the record high of $2.22/litre in May 2011, although diesel prices at $1.57/litre are still some way off the record $1.92/litre in July 2008 when oil prices spiked at US$144/barrel.
29 February 2012
Z increased its retail prices overnight on 28 February, and it appears the competitors are following suit. Petrol is up 4 cents per litre while diesel is up 2c.
1 February 2012
Diesel prices fell again on 31 January, down 3 cents per litre. This restores the diesel importer margin to the middle of the normal range. Petrol prices have not fallen, but as the diesel price drop is due to the stronger NZ dollar, the imported cost of petrol has also fallen and so there is room to pass this saving onto motorists with a similar cut in petrol prices.
22 December 2011
Fuel prices remain unchanged during December thanks to relatively stable commodity prices and the exchange rate.
23 November 2011
Diesel prices were up 4 cents per litre on 22 November – the third increase in 11 days, totalling 14 cents per litre. Retail petrol prices are unchanged, while oil prices are down. This puts paid to the myth that retail prices are directly linked to oil prices. Oil prices can influence retail prices, but commodity prices for petrol and diesel also move independently of oil prices, as is the case here. Diesel commodity prices are rising as countries in the northern hemisphere stockpile diesel for winter heating fuel and electricity generation.
3 November 2011
Since oil prices fell as low as US$102 a barrel in early October – down US$12/barrel since mid-September when retail prices last rose – they have since climbed back to about US$112/barrel for Brent blend which is the appropriate benchmark price for crude oil for the New Zealand market.
26 September 2011
Oil commodity prices have recently fallen US$10 a barrel, which so far has translated to a US 4c/litre drop in the market price of refined fuels (refined fuel price movements generally lag oil price movements by one day).
30 August 2011
The price of petrol increased 4 cents per litre on 29/30 August. Since the last increase the imported cost of petrol is up over 2 cents per litre.
