KEY POINTS:
Oil majors Caltex and Mobil have reversed their latest fuel price rises after pleas from consumer groups to give motorists a break over the long weekend.
That left BP alone last night on record prices which have pushed its "boutique" 98-octane petrol almost 3c above the
$2-a-litre threshold, to 202.9c.
BP led the pack on Tuesday by lifting its petrol prices 3c a litre to 188.9c and diesel by 5c to 156.9c as the world oil market continued to tighten.
Caltex and Mobil initially followed BP, but then rescinded their increases between Wednesday night and yesterday afternoon after Shell refused to lift its prices and industry minnow Gull headed in the opposite direction with a 5c discount on fuel sales.
Although Gull's discount was only for 26 hours, until 9am yesterday, general manager Dave Bodger said the response from motorists was so strong it decided to restore only 3c of its prices for the long weekend. That left its petrol and diesel 2c cheaper than at the beginning of the week.
Piling even more pressure on the fuel market was an additional discount of 10c a litre which was being offered throughout the weekend at Gull and Shell service stations to motorists with vouchers from spending more than $70 on groceries at Countdown, Foodtown and Woolworths supermarkets.
The latest developments were welcomed by the Automobile Association, which was joined earlier by Consumer NZ in calling for oil companies to offer better explanations to their customers for fuel price rises.
AA spokesman Mark Stockdale said the cuts by Caltex and Mobil cast doubt over their justification for raising prices in the first place, and he hoped they would not move back up after the weekend.
Caltex official Sharon Buckland said the oscillations simply reflected a market which was "extremely volatile".
"It's very hard to read," she said.
BP spokeswoman Diana Stretch defended her company's lonely position at the top end of fuel prices, saying its increases were "as far as we are concerned more than justified".
Her counterpart at Shell, Jackie Maitland, said the company was "taking a hit" on diesel in particular but would keep trying to hold its prices for as long as possible.
Mr Bodger said the demand for discount fuel drained the 91-octane petrol pumps dry yesterday morning at Gull's outlet in Nawton Rd, Hamilton.
Motorists were offered the company's more expensive 98-octane biofuel blend for the same discount price until the 91-octane pumps could be resupplied.
