Petrol price down 3c

Shell and BP have cut their petrol prices by 3c a litre from 7am today.

Shell spokeswoman Jackie Maitland said it had seen a decrease in the cost of product over the weekend, and today decided to pass that benefit on to motorists.

"We saw an increase in world stocks (of crude oil) and that has a positive effect on the price."

Shell garages nationwide will sell unleaded 91 for 144.9c, and premium for 149.9c.

Only last week prices rose 6c. The rising price of crude oil was exacerbated by the recent fall of the New Zealand dollar against the US dollar.

Ms Maitland said there had been a lot of recent fluctuation in prices.

"The best thing to do in such a volatile market is to keep monitoring it," she said.

"We saw a significant price rise of 6c last week which was particularly high, and obviously everybody, including Shell, would have felt uncomfortable about that increase."

- NZPA