KEY POINTS:
The sneaking suspicion that petrol prices go up faster than they fall has been dismissed, with a report claiming the fuel market here is "fundamentally competitive".
Shell New Zealand welcomed the release of the Hale & Twomey study of petrol pricing yesterday as "consistent with Shell's previously stated
position that the industry ... is fundamentally competitive".
The report, based on the Australian Competition and Commerce Commission's own inquiry, found that New Zealand had the fifth-lowest petrol prices and taxation levels in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development behind Mexico, the United States, Canada and Australia.
Despite a public outcry at the record price rises seen earlier this year, the study found those were primarily the result of record rises in the barrel price of crude.
Petrol prices here were not "fast to rise and slow to fall" despite the public perception that drops in the crude price were felt far more quickly at the pump.
And it said there would be no particular benefit in having a FuelWatch scheme in New Zealand like the one operating in Australia.
The report did, however, conclude that New Zealand-based oil companies could be more transparent abouttheir profit margins, and that daily public reporting would be useful.
Lianne Dalziel, the Minister of Commerce, said the Government would increase monitoring to improve the transparency of pricing after the recent "confusing volatility".
Shell said it was working with officials from the Ministry of Economic Development to achieve greater transparency on margins and improve the public's understanding of the fuel market.
"This study confirms that Kiwi drivers benefit from New Zealand's competitive and transparent fuel market," said Mark Forsyth, Shell New Zealand's retail general manager.
AA motoring affairs general manager Mike Noon urged the ministry and oil industry to make pump prices more readily available to the public.
"We note from the report that the main way of determining current prices is from service station price boards," he said. "But that doesn't tell motorists if it's the lowest price in the area, and not all fuel prices are displayed on sign boards anyway.
"Motorists want to get better, immediate access to information on who has the best prices, and we think there is scope for publishing this data on a website, which may encourage more price competition between the oil companies."
Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said the report showed that the supply of cheap oil was nearing an end and other, more sustainable options, had to be pursued urgently.
* World oil prices recovered yesterday after dipping to a three-month low on Wednesday. Crude oil traded in Singapore rose US26c to US$118 ($164) a barrel as concerns over supply in Turkey, Nigeria and Iran offset reduced demand in the US, Europe and China.
