Petrol prices on the rise

Rising crude oil prices, and a falling exchange rate, contributed to pushing petrol prices up in the second half of 2017. "The average price for a litre of 91 octane reached $2.00 in March 2018," prices senior manager Paul Pascoe said. "This is the highest level since the December 2014 quarter." Average petrol prices in the CPI take into account loyalty card and supermarket discounts, and therefore differ from those seen at the petrol station. For several quarters, petrol prices have moved in different ways in different parts of the country, rather than rising or falling consistently at a national level. Since 2013, Wellington and the South Island have typically had larger increases and smaller decreases than the rest of the country. The regional pattern changed in the year ended March 2018. Auckland prices either fell less or increased more than Wellington and Canterbury in three of the past four quarters. In the March 2018 quarter, Auckland petrol prices rose 3.9 per cent, while Wellington and Canterbury rose 0.8 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively. In the year ended March 2018, Auckland petrol prices increased 6.5 per cent, Wellington increased 1.7 per cent, and Canterbury 1.3 per cent. From March 2013 to March 2018, Auckland prices decreased 5.0 per cent, Wellington prices decreased 3.8 per cent, and Canterbury prices decreased 3.1 per cent.