Petrol prices hit record for unleaded and super
New Zealanders are facing a new petrol price record, the founder of petrol price monitoring app Gaspy says.
In Auckland yesterday, the price for 91 has now hit $3.15 a litre while 98 is at $3.40.
Gaspy founder Larry Green said the previous record was $3.09. The 91 national average had reached $2.85 a litre, which is an increase of 23c in just 28 days.
He said it seemed that petrol prices were on a continuing upward trajectory.
‘‘I don’t know what can bring them down. They only went down when the Government took off the fuel tax but they’ve climbed back up and quickly.’’
He said it put the Government in an awkward position when the time came to decide whether to reinstate the fuel tax.
The Government reduced the fuel excise on March 14 for a period of three months. ‘‘If you were a betting person you would bet that prices will keep going up,’’ Green said.
Surging margins for refineries were blamed for part of the increase in the cost of fuel earlier in the week, but commentators said keeping Marsden Point open would not have helped.
The price of crude oil is also at record highs, as geopolitical tensions and pandemic-related supply chain issues put pressure on.
ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley said prices had picked up because oil prices had risen based on the prospect of the European Union banning Russian imports.
The New Zealand dollar was also falling, which pushed up the cost of imports for consumers here. Its value
‘‘If you were a betting person you would bet that prices will keep going up.’’
Larry Green Gaspy
would need to increase again to see any significant change in the shortterm, he said.
‘‘We think prices are going to remain pretty elevated around these levels potentially until later on in the year. The war in Ukraine doesn’t look like easing any time soon.’’
He said, even if it did, it was likely the EU would wean itself off imports of fossil fuels from Russia. ‘‘We don’t see a big retreat in global oil prices coming through.’’