Rotorua petrol prices reach a new low

Rotorua petrol prices are some of the lowest, if not the lowest, in the country with a price war along Te Ngae Rd. Photo / Ben Fraser

With national petrol prices at their lowest in four years, Rotorua is still one of the cheapest cities to top up the tank.

Yesterday the price of 91 octane in Rotorua fell as low as 156.9c per litre, and an expert says if it stays that way, Rotorua motorists could save about $400 per year.

In its Petrolwatch report yesterday the Automobile Association's Mark Stockdale said the price of 91 octane had fallen below 180c nationwide for the first time since August 2010.

But a midday survey of some of the major petrol stations in Rotorua showed prices significantly lower than that - between 156.9c and 167c for standard 91 octane and between 96c and 103.9c for diesel.

Gull national retail manager Graham Stirk said its Te Ngae Rd station had just lowered its price to 156.9c for 91, the cheapest Gull station in the country. Along the same road, Mobil and Caltex matched that price.

Petrol has fallen an average of 42c locally since the Rotorua Daily Post conducted a similar survey at the beginning of October.

Mr Stockdale said petrol prices hadn't dropped below 160c since October 2009.

"One of the reasons Rotorua petrol prices are so cheap is fierce competition between the relatively large number of service stations in Rotorua."

BP communications officer Jonty Mills said there had been 22 consecutive drops in pump prices since early October, largely due to the state of the international oil market.

The previous record for consecutive reductions was 10 in late 2008, although the record for the biggest total drop, set that year, of 50c is yet to be broken.

Mr Stockdale said the four-month-long downward trend showed no signs of stopping.

"There'll be a lot of international experts scratching their heads wondering how low it can go. Hopefully when it does bottom out it stabilises around this level, staying under $2."

He said that if prices stayed this low the average Rotorua motorist could expect to save about $400 over the year, more than enough to cover licensing, registration and a warrant of fitness.

Local motorist Laura Crook felt relief at the price drops, saying she could always use the extra money. "It's good that it's going down, it's been so high for so long."