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It was a yo-yo day of fuel prices yesterday as two major petrol companies reversed increases they had imposed this week.
On Wednesday, BP raised its prices by 3c a litre, taking them to 163.9c a litre for 91-octane petrol and 168.9c for 95-octane. Caltex and Mobil followed suit with similar price increases, but Shell's prices did not budge, remaining at 160.9 for 91 and 165.9 for 95-octane.
But yesterday Mobil reversed its price move, saying "the market was not ready for it". Caltex did the same.
Gull - which has yet to match last week's rise of 5c a litre by its competitors, let alone this latest increase - also kept its prices steady. However, regional manager David Bodger warned the price was unlikely to stay at that level for long.
"It's a big game of hold your breath at the moment," Mr Bodger said. "It goes against the grain to raise prices just before a holiday weekend. We will hold as long as we can, but we are facing increases in the cost of replacement stock at the moment."
A Shell spokesman said the company was holding its prices for now, but warned they were reviewed daily.
BP spokeswoman Diana Stretch said the fuel market was extremely volatile. A few weeks ago companies had been able to drop petrol prices by 8c a litre, but record international oil prices and tensions in northern Iraq had led to that decrease being gradually rolled back.
International oil prices soared to US$89 a barrel on Tuesday, but held steady yesterday.
