𝔽𝕦𝕖𝕝 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕔𝕜 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕤, 𝕤𝕝𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕣𝕠𝕡 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 - ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕖 ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟

𝔸 𝕕𝕖𝕝𝕒𝕪 𝕚𝕟 𝕕𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕡𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕝 𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕠𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕤 $𝟙𝟝 𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕒 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕦𝕞𝕡.

T

he Commerce Commission's analysis of fuel monitoring data shows retailers are quick to put prices up in response to increased costs, but slow when it comes to bringing prices down when oil prices fall or the exchange rate changes.

Commissioner Bryan Chapple said motorists often pay more for petrol longer than they should.

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"We can see clear evidence showing that fuel companies maintain temporarily higher margins after a decrease in their costs, lasting up to two weeks - at great expense to Kiwi motorists.

"Our findings suggest that petrol prices shoot up at the pump in response to increased costs, but there is a noticeable lag in retail prices being lowered in response to decreases in underlying costs."

He said the commission will be keeping a close watch on pricing tactics, particularly around the Auckland region, before and after the regional fuel tax is removed on 30 June.

The cost of fuel delivered to the Auckland region from 1 July will drop by 11.5 cents per litre.

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"If fuel companies don't reflect this drop promptly in retail prices, Aucklanders could be over-paying by nearly $1m in the first week alone," Chapple said.

"In a healthy and competitive fuel market, we expect to see changes in underlying costs fully passed through into retail prices promptly."

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