Fuel prices have taken a tumble across New Zealand on Tuesday, so Newshub has rounded up the cheapest fuel you can find in major cities.
It comes just days after the Government extended reductions to fuel excise duty, road user charges, and public transport until the end of January next year.
Fuel prices for 91 octane petrol have dropped to as low as $2.71 at Waitomo Fitzgerald in Christchurch, which had the cheapest rate out of New Zealand's five biggest cities.
Prices for the cheapest petrol were below $3 in all of the five big cities (Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, and Christchurch), according to the petrol price-tracking app Gaspy. But the cheapest out of all the cities Newshub looked at was $2.67 a litre at both Gull Napier and Waitomo Napier.
Even with the drop in prices on Tuesday, the latest average per litre price for 91 octane at New Zealand stations was $3.11, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. The average diesel price was $2.94 per litre.
Z Energy told Newshub that decisions about whether prices go up or down are based on multiple price inputs including global market fluctuations, shipping and freight costs, the price of carbon, and local competitive pressures.
"In light of recent declines in Brent Crude prices, Z Energy (Z) has responded by reducing prices across our network by at least 15cpl, bringing all sites under $3 on 91 and diesel," a Z spokesperson told Newshub.
"It's important to note that just because crude drops, it may not mean that we drop pump prices by the same amount, as we may have been absorbing some of the previous increases into our margins."
Z said they're just like any other business facing challenges, including being at orange in the COVID-19 Protection Framework.
"As such, Z reviews its pricing daily and makes up to 50 price changes a day outside of any nationwide move," the spokesperson said.
"Z does not discuss nor disclose the timings of any such changes (up or down) as any future time-based reference could be considered price signalling to competitors. Z expects that the volatility in our key input cost being the price of refined fuels will continue given the ongoing war in Ukraine.
"While we work to ensure that the reduction in Fuel Excise Duty (FED) is passed onto our customers, we note that Z's fuel pricing is localised and therefore the price of fuel will continue to vary between different locations."
Terry Collins, AA's principal policy advisor, said there are three reasons for the recent drop in petrol prices.
"The price of crude oil has come back to around the US$100 mark, although there a daily five percent swings happening," he said.
"The other major reason is refinery costs have come back after being up at record high levels.
"Finally the fear of a recession as created a fear of softening demand, however the supply is still tight and the impact of Russian sanctions is not fully factored in."
Mike Turner, the retail operations manager at Gull New Zealand, said there's a lot of volatility in prices bouncing up and down, so retailers try to smooth them out. But with this recent drop, he told Newshub it's difficult to predict whether prices will stay this low, so he encourages people to enjoy cheaper fuel for a while.
"I wouldn't be surprised [if petrol prices revert to being more expensive]. We're still seeing the impact of COVID-19 and supply constraints of the Ukraine war," Turner said.
"I don't know what the future holds, but I wouldn't be surprised if they go back up to $3.30."
He added that Gull is watching petrol prices as closely as every other consumer is and they want to make sure they're pricing it fairly and accurately.
Andrew McNaught, the lead country manager of Mobil Oil New Zealand, said they're also working hard to keep petrol prices competitive to all customers.
"The price of fuel at the pump is driven by a large number of factors, including but not limited to product costs, transport costs, refining costs, exchange rates, taxes (including GST, levies, and excise duties), and costs related to the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme," he said.
To help people swerve the higher prices for 91, Newshub has put together the cheapest petrol stations for some of New Zealand's bigger centres - as per price-tracking app Gaspy on Tuesday, July 19.
Auckland
- Caltex Newton Road Auckland - $2.83
- GAS Mt Eden - $2.90
- Mobil Parnell - $2.94
- Z Beach Road Auckland - $2.94
Hamilton
- Gull Norton Road - $2.72
- Pak 'n Save Mill Street - $2.74
- Mobil Frankton - $2.82
Rotorua
- Gull Lake Road - $2.79
- Waitomo Fenton Park - $2.79
- Pak'nSave Rotorua - $2.80
Tauranga
- Gull Speedlanes Hewletts - $2.79
- Gull Hocking St Self Serve - $2.79
- Waitomo Hewletts Road - $2.79
Napier-Hastings
- Gull Napier - $2.67
- Waitomo Napier - $2.67
- Pak'nSave Hastings - $2.68
New Plymouth
- New World New Plymouth - $2.73
- Gull New Plymouth - $2.80
- BP 2go Moturoa - $2.85
Palmerston North
- Waitomo Fitzherbert - $2.69
- Pak'nSave Palmerston North - $2.72
- New World Pioneer - $2.72
Wellington
- Waitomo Tinakori - $2.79
- Caltex Old Hutt Road - $2.80
- Mobil Karori - $2.96
Nelson
- NPD Self Serve St Vincent Street - $2.70
- NPD Self Serve Parkers Road - $2.70
- Z Rutherford Street - $2.76
Christchurch
- Waitomo Fitzgerald - $2.71
- Mobil Bealey Ave - $2.76
- Z Carlton Corner - $2.76
Queenstown
- NPD Frankton - $2.99
- Pak'nSave Queenstown - $2.99
- Z Queenstown - $2.99
Dunedin
- NPD Self Serve Andy Bay - $2.72
- Waitomo Eastgate Fuel Stop - $2.73
- Pak 'n Save Dunedin - $2.76
Invercargill
- NPD Self Serve Invercargill - $2.76
- Allied Tramway Motors - $2.76
- Allied Invercargill Fuel Stop 24/7 - $2.76
