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Motorists gained some relief yesterday when two big oil companies eased off the price throttle, leaving only BP still charging 12c a litre more than at the start of the week.
But although Caltex and Mobil cut 2c off their prices, that was only to meet increases by Shell and Gull, which on Thursday resisted following rises of 6c a litre on petrol and on diesel by the three other companies.
Shell triggered the rethink by Caltex and Mobil yesterday by announcing a slightly more modest rise of 4c, followed by a 5c increase by Gull, which had been lagging 1c below the rest of the industry before Thursday's movements.
That left all except BP selling "regular" 91-octane petrol at main-centre stations last night for 210.9c a litre, and diesel for 183.9c. BP's prices remained 212.9c for regular petrol, 226.9c for 98-octane, and 185.9c for diesel.
Automobile Association spokesman Mark Stockdale welcomed the "small mercy" of the 2c cuts, but would have preferred all the oil companies to have delayed their increases in the first place, at least until after this weekend.
"It shows there was some flexibility in their margins to allow them to absorb some of the international pressures. It appears to show they were premature by raising their prices by 6c on Thursday."
Sharon Buckland of Caltex said import cost pressures, including those imposed by a weaker New Zealand dollar, had not eased but her company was responding to competition. Refined 91-octane petrol imports had increased by about US$2 ($2.67) a barrel since Thursday to US$140.37c ($187.17c), although not to heights reached on Monday, before the first of the retail rises. Mathew Dearnaley
