17:15:06 Friday 25 April 2025

Petrol prices driven down: 'Like a triple whammy'

Petrol prices may see further drops in the coming weeks. Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook

The stars have aligned to drive petrol costs down, says a fuel price tracker.

Crude oil prices have plummeted in the wake of US president Donald Trump's ever-changing tariff policies.

"They started to rise at the beginning of April but now we're seeing the beginnings of what looks like quite a sharp drop off," said Mike Newton, director of Gaspy, a website that compares prices between fuel stations.

"Of course a lot of the impacts of what's going on with the US is still to be seen, because a lot of it is speculative."

He said several factors had come together to create the downturn.

"They're talking about a downturn in demand for gas because of the economic uncertainty, and that I think is still to be realised," he said.

"At the same time you've got OPEC increasing supply, so that will bring prices down, and at the same time the US dollar is weakening so it's kind of like a triple whammy."

Newton hoped to see prices drop even further.

"Hopefully it means we see 91 heading down to $2.50 in the not too distant future, but it remains to be seen," he said.

"I mean, everything is so uncertain in the US and all the things bringing prices down at the moment could easily flip on their head and start to push prices back up because they change their mind every other day."

He expected the decline to continue for a while longer.

"I think prices are still going to continue to drop in the next few weeks, but in saying that I don't think you're going to see massive drops. I think it's going to slowly ease its way down."

2 comments

Auckland

Posted on 15-04-2025 14:54 | By Yadick

Most Mobil stations in Auckland for 98 charge $2.84 - $2.89 at the very upper end.
Tauranga $3.02 - $3.09.
NEWS FLASH: Taurangians are getting ripped at the pump. Even with a Smiles card, Auckland is WAY cheaper.
We should boycott Tauranga stations and purchase our fuel from out of town. Hit them in the pocket for a change.


Very positive message........

Posted on 15-04-2025 19:35 | By groutby

..being given in regard to fuel prices coming down, and lets's hope it is sometime soon, looking currently of Gaspy you have to wonder perhaps why retail prices have not moved (down) much with there being a sizeable drop in the barrel price over the last month.
At the pump, the usual 'suspects' are hanging in there to gouge as much as possible (you know who they are)..while the smaller suppliers offer various (and welcomed) discounts at certain times, likely in line with the need to only 'price match' or better between themselves for custom....and a particular shout out to two supermarkets owned by the same chain for always being competitive, even as primarily a food supplier...it is appreciated.
C'mon locals, support those supporting you....after all....you wouldn't deliberately shop somewhere with higher prices for exactly the same product now....would you?


Leave a Comment


You must be logged in to make a comment.