New at Castalia

Pump prices may continue to fall

The Press, 13/01/07

Petrol could continue to become cheaper for Kiwis, as oil prices fall.

Oil prices are now below $US54 ($NZ77) a barrel, down one-third from the record $US78.40 reached in July, after Israeli forces invaded Lebanon. Australian economists predict petrol prices there could drop up to A5c a litre.

Castalia energy market specialist Stephen Gale said no reason existed why New Zealand could not follow the international market. "The market here is quite competitive now, so if world prices do continue to fall, it is possible prices here could follow," he said.

"However, the market is still volatile and things could change. It is difficult to predict too far ahead."

Fluctuations in the kiwi dollar could also affect prices, Gale said.

Shell spokeswoman Jackie Maitland said the company did not speculate on prices. "Any drop in prices is good news, but the market can be quite volatile," she said. "We don't tend to try to predict prices and I don't think other companies would either. The price at the pumps can depend on a lot of things."

Shell, BP, Mobil and Caltex dropped their prices twice this week, by 3c and 2c a litre. The cuts saw 91 octane fall to 137.9c a litre, 95 octane drop to 142.9c a litre and diesel fall to 93.9c a litre.