KEY POINTS:
The Easter fuel price war stepped up a gear this afternoon, with Shell and BP announcing their price cuts would spread from Auckland to the rest of the country.
From 1pm today, Shell and BP's national price for ultra 91 was 151.9c and diesel 97.9c.
Until the announcement,
Auckland motorists had been faring better than others nationwide.
Prices at Shell and Mobil pumps in Auckland were last night 6c a litre lower than elsewhere after apparent success by oil industry minnow Gull Petroleum in boosting competition in the north for motorists' business.
That left BP and Caltex under increasing pressure to follow them, after raising their prices in Auckland by 6c a litre on Tuesday, and in other centres by 2c.
Both companies followed suit this morning, Caltex saying "competitive forces in Auckland" were responsible.
BP then confirmed it had reduced national prices as well.
Auckland prices had previously been 4c lower than elsewhere, a situation which the Automobile Association attributed to efforts by Gull's 31 service stations, most of which are in the northern region.
Gull general manager Dave Bodger said today his company's pricing varied at different spots throughout the upper North Island.
"We're $147.9 (for 91 octane petrol) at our drive-through site in Hamilton, $150.9 in Whangarei and Mount Maunganui, we're $1.50.9 at New Lynn and the rest of Auckland we're at $1.51.5."
"We're holding those for today, but we look at pricing on a daily basis."
In Australia, motorists were facing a different picture with petrol retailers warned of fines if they raised prices before the holiday weekend. There were reports of prices jumping 15c overnight in Sydney.
The AA accused the big oil companies of making excessive profits elsewhere, but their increases on Tuesday brought Auckland into line with the rest of the country, leaving only Shell and Gull holding out at that point.
Shell waited until yesterday to lift its prices in Auckland, but dropped them again within hours, after finding Gull still holding out. Mobil also cut its prices yesterday, after having raised them on Tuesday.
Australian-owned Gull's New Zealand regional manager, Dave Bodger, told the Herald yesterday that he was trying to tough it out over Easter "because a lot of people are filling up before going on holiday".
Despite pressure from cost rises on imported fuel, the Government's 0.69c increase in petrol tax and an 11 per cent rise in road-user charges for his delivery trucks, he said putting pump prices up so soon before Easter "is not the image I want out there".
Shell spokeswoman Jackie Maitland acknowledged that her company had dropped its prices to meet competition in the market.
After learning from the Herald of Shell's price cut in Auckland, Mr Bodger said it was a shame motorists elsewhere were not receiving similar consideration.
"I don't have the luxury of charging people more elsewhere," he said.
Transit NZ is meanwhile advising holidaymakers planning to drive north from Auckland over Easter to consider State Highway 16 as a less-congested alternative to SH1, but warns them to take care on flood-damaged Northland roads.
Northern operations manager Joseph Flanagan said SH11 from Kawakawa to Paihia and Puketona, the highway worst hit by last week's floods, had been reopened to all traffic but urged motorists to be careful in areas where the road had been narrowed and where there was loose metal and mud.
He urged caution on SH10, from Pakaraka to Waipapa, and on SH1 between Pakaraka and Whangarei, where there remained isolated areas of damaged road surface and shoulders caused by scouring and slumping.
The AA wants holidaymakers to keep car lights on when driving, to take regular breaks on long trips, and turn off mobile phones in a bid to keep the road toll below last Easter's tally of five fatal crashes and 114 smashes.
