10 Jan 2012

Petrol up 5 cents a litre

10:04 pm on 10 January 2012

Major petrol retailers in New Zealand have put up their prices by 5 cents a litre, blaming the diplomatic situation in the Middle East.

BP, Caltex, Mobil and Z Energy, which owns the Shell stations, lifted the price of 91 octane petrol to $2.119 a litre from Wednesday afternoon.

Diesel prices are unchanged.

The companies say pressure has been building on prices for more than a week, and the price of crude oil has reached a nine-month high.

They say the price rise is driven by uncertainty in the Middle East, with the brewing diplomatic crisis between Iran and Western nations.

In recent weeks, Iran has threatened to cut off the Strait of Hormuz, the main route for oil exports from the Gulf, if sanctions are imposed on its oil exports because of its nuclear ambitions.

A spokesperson for Z Energy, Jonathan Hill, says his company can't absorb the rising costs any longer.

However, Gull says it is not lifting its petrol price.