Price war makes our petrol cheapest

Rotorua has some of the cheapest fuel in the country.

Price wars, low commodity prices and temporary discounts have brought down Rotorua fuel prices again, giving residents some of the cheapest fuel in New Zealand.

Yesterday, 91 octane fuel was being sold at $1.849 a litre at Lake Rd Gull Station, $1.86 a litre at Z on Fenton St and $1.799 a litre at Te Ngae Mobil.

All three stations had 10c per litre discounts yesterday. Gull's price drop was scheduled to end at noon today, Z at 11am and Mobil this afternoon.

Lake Rd Gull manager Glenys Rigby said the Gull discounted price was lower than in previous months due to steep local competition.

"We often get people from out of town come in and say, 'wow, why is petrol so much cheaper in Rotorua?' It's because we've been having a price war for a long time in Rotorua," she said.

Gull national retail business manager Graham Stirk said Gull sold petrol in Rotorua for less than it did in any other town or city it operated in.

"There might be individual stations or streets that prices get below the prices in Rotorua, but compared to other towns and cities, Rotorua has the cheapest overall fuels."

Rotorua residents know they have it good. The Rotorua Daily Post asked readers how far they would go to get cheaper fuel and Facebook respondents overwhelmingly said there was no need to leave Rotorua.

Automobile Association petrol watch spokesman Mark Stockdale said a drop in commodity prices had brought petrol prices down across the country.

The current national average price for 91 octane fuel is $2.08 a litre.

AA expected prices to come down again in the next few weeks, as commodity prices continued to fall, he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Stockdale also warned motorists to be aware ACC levies would reduce by an average of 45 per cent for most motor vehicles from July 2015 so ACC was advising vehicle owners to renew their licenses so they expired slightly after July 1.