Motorists hit as petrol price rises again

Motorists got another shock yesterday to find petrol prices had leaped 3c a litre at the pump - pushing the cost of 96-octane well over the $1.40 mark.

BP was the first of the big four fuel companies to move, lifting prices yesterday morning, with Shell, Caltex and Mobil following suit throughout the day.

A litre of 91-octane now costs 137.9c, with 96-octane jumping to 142.9c. Diesel has remained at 97.9c.

Sustained high refined oil prices and a fall in the New Zealand dollar in recent months have been cited as reasons for the spike.

It is the second hit motorists have taken recently, following a 3c-a-litre increase in petrol pump prices last week.

Automobile Association spokesman George Fairbairn said he found the latest rise difficult to justify considering that oil prices had been fairly steady recently.

Before yesterday's spike, petrol prices were already at their highest in about a decade.

Mr Fairbairn said that with new Government taxes added to fuel over the years, it was difficult to compare petrol prices now with those of 10 or 20 years ago.

But one of the more concerning factors now was the exponential growth of GST that came with every price rise.

"Over 15c a litre is now GST, which is effectively a tax on a tax," said Mr Fairbairn.

"Businesses can claim it back but the public can't."

He said some motorists were probably using the more expensive high-octane fuel when their vehicles were capable of running efficiently on 91-octane.

Mr Fairbairn urged people to check what fuel their vehicles could use.

- NZPA