Stronger dollar helps lower petrol prices

The stronger New Zealand dollar has prompted the four major oil companies to drop prices for the first time in five months.

A decrease in the cost of the raw product has also had an effect, petrol companies said.

Mobil, Caltex and BP have reduced prices by 5c a litre and Shell by 4c.

The last across-the-board drop in petrol prices came in March this year when companies cut petrol prices by 2c a litre.

US oil prices dipped nearly 1 per cent to below US$74 a barrel in opening trade yesterday after the UN brokered a truce to end fighting in the Middle East.