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Pain at pump as unleaded tops $3 per litre in Auckland, Wellington

Author
Kirsty Wynn, NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Fri, 4 Mar 2022, 3:11pm
Petrol pain: Unleaded 91 is more than $3 per lt around Auckland and it set to rise further. (Photo / Michael Craig)
Petrol pain: Unleaded 91 is more than $3 per lt around Auckland and it set to rise further. (Photo / Michael Craig)

Pain at pump as unleaded tops $3 per litre in Auckland, Wellington

Author
Kirsty Wynn, NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Fri, 4 Mar 2022, 3:11pm

Filling up at the pump got more expensive this week with unleaded 91 surpassing $3 per litre in Auckland and Wellington.

Today a BP station in the Auckland suburb of Waterview was advertising unleaded 91 for $3.07 per litre. Premium 98 hit that a month ago and has now climbed to $3.33 per litre.

At that time unleaded 91 was $2.66 - a price rise of 40c per litre in just four weeks.

According to fuel price app Gaspy, the most expensive petrol in Auckland was at BP Whangaparaoa, where 91 was spotted at $3.15 per litre and 98 advertised at $3.38 per litre.

Using a discount card shaved 6c per litre off the price.

Motorists driving along Manukau Rd in Epsom could nab a tank of the cheapest fuel with 91 at $2.74 per litre and 98 at $2.90.

And the pain at the pump is set to continue. The price of Brent crude oil jumped from $153 a barrel on Wednesday to $168 yesterday.

The $13.89 difference in one day was the biggest hike in price since 2020.

Today it was $172.69 a barrel.

In Wellington, a handful of petrol stations surpassed the $3 per litre mark for unleaded 91.

The more economical fuel was advertised for $3.07 at BP Connect Taranaki Street and $3.05 BP Connect Johnsonville.

One of the cheapest spots for petrol in New Zealand looked to be Allied Rickards Garage in Gisborne.

The iwi-run business based prices on the needs of the community and today 91 was $2.65 per litre.

Tāmanuhiri Tūtū Poroporo Trust chief executive Doug Jones said the price was decided by the needs of the Muriwai and Manutuke communities, not economics.

"We are the hub for a lot of our iwi and when we set the price we look at their needs," he said.

"We look at what we need to provide for our whānau ."

In saying that, Jones said, "business was booming" with people passing through, always stopping and filling up.

MTA energy and environment sector manager Ian Baggott told the Herald last month 91 would hit $3 per litre.

Baggott said the bulk of the price drivers pay for petrol is made up of taxes.

He told the Herald in an earlier interview 52 per cent of the cost is made up of taxes, including the fuel excise duty, the emission trading scheme levy and GST.

"Another 37 per cent is made up of production and shipping costs," he said.

"That leaves 10.6 per cent as the wholesaler and retailer margin, out of which they have to pay staff and operating costs, leases, distribution and other costs."

The higher price at the pump only added to the rising cost of living for New Zealanders with food and accommodation costs also rising.

Food, rents and interest rates had also risen.

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