Petrol Price Speeds to $1.48 a Litre

MOTORISTS have been bitten by another sudden jump in petrol prices, taking the cost of 91-octane to a record $1.48 a litre.

It will now cost $74 to fill the 50-litre tank of an average family car, and Consumers Institute chief executive David Russell says Kiwis will have to get used to it.

“We have to accept, unfortunately, that at the bottom end of the world the prices of petroleum products are going to remain at a very high level.”

Higher petrol prices would “flow through into virtually everything we do”, he said. For instance, supermarket stock was delivered by truck and increasing fuel costs would be passed on to consumers.

Kiwis would have to change their habits, as they had done in the 1970s, he said. They could reduce the number of trips they made by car and avoid buying “gas guzzlers”.

The threat of a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico causing supply disruptions sent world crude prices soaring to a record US$68 a barrel yesterday, prompting another 4c-a-litre rise at New Zealand stations.

At BP stations 91-octane petrol was selling for $1.48 a litre, 96- octane was $1.53. Diesel prices were held.

The big petrol companies bumped up their prices just two weeks ago, blaming the soaring cost of crude oil.

BP spokesman Neil Green said the company had held on but needed to increase prices. “To be honest we haven’t made money on selling fuel at retail for the past week. In fact we’ve lost money.”

Petrol prices have risen 40 per cent in the past year and Automobile Association motoring policy manager Jayne Gale said motorists had not been able to budget for such a big increase. People should plan their trips carefully and pool cars if possible. Another way to save was to take the foot off the accelerator.

“We’re telling people to drive more gently or more slowly, to try and manage their petrol through cutting back a bit.”

Motorists have little hope of respite from rising prices. Finance Minister Michael Cullen said Labour had no plans to reduce the tax on petrol because it would encourage increased consumption. “That would not be a sensible response.”

National’s finance spokesman John Key said National had no plans to remove the excise tax imposed by Labour if it were successful in forming a government.

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