Petrol prices up 2c a litre at the pump

Petrol prices are going up at the pump as world oil prices stretch toward record levels.

Shell, BP and Gull confirmed they had increased petrol prices by 2c a litre yesterday, and diesel by 6c. Spokespeople for other companies could not be reached or would not confirm prices.

On world markets overnight US light crude for April delivery settled up US52 cents (NZ72 cents) to US$53.57 a barrel after soaring as high as US$55.20, just short of the New York Mercantile Exchange futures record US$55.67 hit in late-October.

Shell and BP said their city prices for 91 octane petrol had been raised to 121.9c, for 96 octane to 126.9c and for diesel to 82.9c. Gull said it was also charging those prices at most of its sites.

AA spokesman George Fairbairn said prices were up at all stations he had passed today.

The companies had obviously been waiting for one of them to lift prices and then, as usual, the others had followed suit, he said.

Hopefully, once spring came to the northern hemisphere the pressure would go off prices as demand for heating oil eased.

He described as "alarmist" suggestions the price could rise as high as US$80 a barrel.

Opec's acting Secretary-General Adnan Shihab-Eldin said on Thursday there was a low probability a barrel of crude could rise to US$80 in the short term.

"However, I can't rule out the rise of a barrel of oil to $80 in the coming two years," he said in Kuwaiti newspaper al-Qabas.

Mr Fairbairn was unsurprised by a recent survey which found vehicle usage by more than 80 per cent of respondents had not been affected by recent petrol price rises.

Of 411 people who took part in the Employers and Manufacturers Association (Northern) survey early last month, only 75 said petrol price increases had influenced their vehicle use.

Ninety-five per cent said they drove to work, with 89 per cent of those being the sole occupant of their vehicle. Twenty-six per cent said they would use public transport to travel to work if better services were available.

Mr Fairbairn said he doubted many people would be able to stop using their cars to get to work because public transport was unsatisfactory for the purpose even in many urban areas.

The AA's Petrolwatch for February, released today, said prices had remained reasonably stable last month, with the nationwide average pump price for 91 octane varying between $1.16 and $1.20 a litre, with 96 octane 5c to 6c more expensive.

Importer margins had hit a three-year high in January and despite a drop of 3c a litre in mid-February remained above normal levels, while diesel margins continued to be high, Petrolwatch said.

This country had benefited from a positive exchange rate with the US currency, in which international oil prices were set, but that factor was likely to be short-lived if the world oil price continued to escalate.

BP spokesman Jonathan Hill said all crude oil and refined products were bought on the international market, with prices being influenced by major disruption at a refinery in Texas.

Shell spokesman Simon King said he was unaware of any indications that would suggest motorists were driving less because of higher petrol prices.

- NZPA