Falling dollar may drive fuel prices up

Hairini motorist Rose Gordon always uses her Pak'nSave petrol voucher after she shops to take advantage of the discount. Photo / John Borren

A falling New Zealand dollar and rising commodity prices may spell an end to further fuel price drops, the New Zealand Automobile Association warns.

Petrolwatch spokesman Mark Stockdale said the cost of importing fuel for companies had gone up and "while it's not a good outlook, they have not increased prices yet and we hope they won't".

"They have been able to afford to absorb those cost increases at this stage, so realistically ... we are not expecting prices to go down."

Strong competition meant it made sense to shop around for the best deals, he said.

"In the Bay, you have five companies competing against each other and they all have different things to offer, some are doing supermarket dockets, loyalty schemes or a straight discount at the pump. It's great for motorists ... in the past, Kiwis said there was not fuel competition and everyone was charging the same price.

"That is not the case, it is far more competitive than other commodities like groceries," he said.

Pak'nSave Papamoa owner/operator Rob McGregor said a "huge number" of customers spent $300 and got 50 cents a litre off their fuel last Sunday and other discounts for spending $150 or $200.

Campaigns had been successful and Foodstuffs head office was aggressive in its marketing, he said.

"I find them expensive because I fund them but they are pretty well received by customers, that is for real."

Gull retail business manager Graham Stirk said Tauranga was an important market because its terminal was based here.

"People are happy with the prices and we strive to give best value for money to the Tauranga motorist."