Dollar drives fuel price rise
THE ride is over for motorists after fuel prices rose for the first time since October, likely signalling the end of a long run of reductions.
Petrol and diesel prices had both fallen nearly 50 cents a litre as tumbling commodity prices led to a record run of 22 consecutive cuts at the pump. But yesterday, fuel prices rose 4 cents a litre, driven by a depreciating New Zealand dollar.
BP spokesman Jonty Mills said the falling dollar had turned the tide on petrol prices. A litre of 91-octane rose to 176.9c, and diesel to 110.9c.
But Automobile Association PetrolWatch spokesman Mark Stockdale said the 4c hike was ‘‘a bit on the nose’’ for consumers after fuel companies had mostly cut prices by 2c during the latest run.
An industry rule of thumb suggests an US1c fall in the currency corresponds to a 1c rise in the price of fuel. In the past week the kiwi has fallen more than 2c to below US73c, a four-year low. Stockdale said the increase ‘‘had to happen’’ after the kiwi fell 5c in the past fortnight.