July 9, 2008...7:58 am

World oil prices crash — pump prices down by dinner time

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World oil prices fell sharply overnight, with New York prices down $US 10 a barrel to $US 135.14, and in London, Brent crude was down $US 6.05 to $US 135.82. These are the biggest one-day falls since March.

As our local oil companies raise prices by lunch time when world prices rise — hence their 6c a litre rise on Monday when world prices hit $US 145 a barrel — one expects they will now reduce pump prices by 10c a litre by dinner time tonight, based on the rule of thumb that says pump prices move by 1c for each $US 1 movement in crude prices.

Look! Up in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Good lord! It’s a flock of tui towing billboards!

13 Comments

  • I’d be interested to know why the price fell. What happened? (Or didn’t happen?)

  • Andrew Bannister

    Last time we saw a large drop in the oil price, there was some funny stuff going on in the Singapore market, which apparently affected us so much that they could not drop petrol prices.

    Rest assured that they’re cooking up an excuse as we ’speak’.

  • “No, it’s a host of flying pigs!”

    And they’re towing a Tui Billboard!

    [Poneke: Rob, that is so good I have changed it to your version! Much obliged.]

  • Yes Andrew…I remember that and have wondered since why,when apparently the cost of crude in Singapore is the determining factor on the price we pay, it isn’t the amount quoted each night on the telly or in the media in general.

  • Because our lazy journalists get their news feeds from the US. The amount of USA-centric news that screens on TV news here is disgraceful. Just because someone in the USA deems that it is news for their viewers, does not automatically make it news for viewers in New Zealand.

  • Yes, but some international oil companies are more rapacious, oops, equal than others.

    I’m wishing that I could run silly little quizes on my blog, because I’d like to ask, “Which company in your experience is fastest to increase its petrol prices and slowest to bring them down following shifts in the price of crude oil?” Perhaps you’d like to try this.

  • Ah, good to see I’m not the only one wondering when the drop is gonna happen.

    My graph is showing a 7c increase in margin in the last couple of days, that’s taking into account the slight weakening of the NZ$.

    How long will that 7c take to filter down, god only knows!

  • Our dollar has been falling over the same period.
    Swings and roundabouts.

    [Poneke: Only by 1c or so Owen.]

  • According to morning report, currency fluctuations, absorbed losses, uncertainty and the potential re-appearing of the lights in the western sky have all stopped the price dropping.

    Mind you the Gull Station in Kingsland never went above 211.9 for 91 Octane. What nice folk.

  • $135 isn’t so much a crash as a correction… that price would have been a record only a few weeks ago.

  • George, like all religious fanatics, you fail to recognise humour so blunt that it hits you in the face :-)

  • It wasn’t immediately obvious to me, as you’ve previously stated that you’re trying to document the highest price oil rises to.

    I don’t suppose your climate related posts are also intentionally ironic ;) ?

  • Vyacheslav, Tula, RF

    All this – result of war against Russia, the Grand Game close to final – termination of putin-medvedev’s kind of Russain authorities, soon the lawless and limitless will be terminated by NATO, it is must be and will be. Petrol will be less 75$/barreel and will be destroyed all busyness companies, byed by Moscow. Why – asc me by toolinvent@bk.ru or *-926-4089039 at any time. Sinclery.


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