Petrol prices drop for first time in months

The strong New Zealand dollar has helped prompt the four major oil companies to drop prices for the first time in five months. Figures yesterday showed the New Zealand dollar had risen to a three-month high against the United States dollar. A decrease in the cost of the raw product has also had an effect, petrol companies said. Mobil, Caltex and BP have reduced their prices by five cents a litre, while Shell has come down four cents. BP confirmed it was dropping the price for both 91 and 96 octane petrol by five cents a litre, spokeswoman Diana Stretch said. The price of diesel, which dropped by three cents a litre on August 1, remains unchanged.

Caltex spokeswoman Sharon Buckland said Caltex was also dropping its price for 91 and 96 octane petrol by five cents a litre. Peter Thornbury of Mobil said the company had also dropped its prices by five cents a litre, after initially moving down by four cents. Shell has dropped the price of petrol by four cents a litre. Jackie Maitland, spokeswoman for Shell, said the decrease would be for both 91 and 96 octane petrol. The last across-the-board drop in petrol prices came in March this year, when BP, Mobil and Caltex matched Shell's price drop, announcing a cut of 2c per litre for unleaded and premium petrol on March 13. US oil prices slumped nearly 1 per cent to below $US74 a barrel in opening trade on Monday after the UN brokered a truce to end fighting in the Middle East. BP also decided to keep running half its Prudhoe Bay oilfield, as it replaces corroded pipelines on the eastern section. Before yesterday's drop, petrol had risen by 38 cents per litre since the beginning of the year, with diesel up 32 cents, the Automobile Association said earlier this month. Petrol prices had risen to their highest level ever, up six cents halfway through July, to $1.77 per litre for 91 octane. The price of diesel rose four cents at the same time, to end the month at $1.28 per litre. Petrol prices have risen 80 per cent in the past three years, from 95c for a litre of 91-octane petrol in May 2003.