Petrol, oil prices up

Press, 28 August 1979, Page 1

Petrol, oil prices up

FA Wellington Petrol and oil prices rose from midnight last nigh| — the second' increase this year. Petrol rose 0.9 c a litre, taking the price of premium grade to 39.5 c a litre, or $1.79 a gallon. Standard grade rose to 38c a litre, or $1.72 a gallon. The price rise was to reimburse the oil companies for the cost of the oil they bought from the

Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said the Minister of Energy (Mr Birch) last evening. The companies would be the sole beneficiaries of the increase and the Government’s income from petrol tax would not be affected. "As far ahead as I can see, in the absence of any substantial increase in O.P.E.C. prices, this will carry us through to the end of the year,” Mr Birch said.

Mr Birch said the increases had been made necessary by the higher cost of imported crude oil. In June the contract price for O.P.E.C. crude had been raised for the second time this year and was now 57 per cent higher than at the end of 1978. The rise in the price of petrol to the New Zealand motorist during the same

period would be 25 per cent, he said. The price of diesel has risen 1.6 c to 19.6 c a litre for bulk-purchase consumers and 0.9 c to 20.6 c a litre for others, including consumers who had it delivered as home heating oil. The new price for light fuel oil would be 15c a litre (up 1.7 c) and heavy fuel oil would rise 1.6 c to 14.5 c a litre.