Record gas prices in New Zealand

Businesses are starting to get worried about petrol prices again. Of course it's all about the low NZ dollar and nothing to do with Peak Oil and resource wars. When was the last time that petrol went below $2/litre in this country.

Reality's no excuse for the AA.

Brent Crude is at $109 today

By my calculations the NZ price ($2.27/litre) translates to about $US9,5/gallon. And you Americans fret about $5/gallon gas!

Petrol price rises to record

Petrol prices have hit a record high but the Automobile Association says a 4 cent a litre rise is unjustified.

Yahoo,

11 July, 2013

The price of a litre of 91-octane rose to $2.27 on Thursday, when BP and Z Energy notched their price up 4c a litre.

The AA, which has been monitoring commodity prices and the exchange rate, says the price should have gone up by just 2c a litre.

The market information indicated the price of diesel, which rose 3c to $1.58 a litre, shouldn't have risen at all, AA senior policy analyst Mark Stockdale says.

"Not only is it too much, it's too soon, because we are seeing a slight recovery in the Kiwi dollar in the last couple of days," he told NZ Newswire.

The price is unlikely to come down in the near future, he said.

Commodity prices were heading in the wrong direction, mainly because of geopolitical issues in the Middle East, he said.

An improving US economy could see the New Zealand dollar lose ground against the US dollar, which oil is traded in, and further price increases could result.

The US, Canada, Mexico and Australia had lower petrol prices than New Zealand, he said.

Tax on petrol increased by three cents a litre in New Zealand from July 1.

Higher fuel prices curb retail spending - Briscoe director

Radio NZ,

14 July, 2013

Briscoe Group executive director Rod Duke warns higher fuel prices could drastically curb retail spending.

Motorists are paying record high petrol prices after a rise in excise on 30 June and subsequent price increase by oil companies, due in part to a lower New Zealand dollar.

Mr Duke said major jumps in fuel costs force people to spend less at the shops because they still need their car to get around.

He said the last major rise in fuel prices cost retailers dearly.

Briscoe Group runs the Rebel Sport, Briscoes Homeware, and Living & Giving chains.

More about the New Zealand dollar and its impact can be heard on Insight.