The Commerce Commission will be able to investigate collusion among petrol companies following a report showing a massive swing in fuel prices in the last decade, transferring hundreds of millions of dollars a year from motorists to petrol companies. An updated report on fuel prices was released today by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, reinforcing that it had "reason to believe" that the market was not fully competitive and that fuel prices were unreasonable. At the same time there was a "rising spread" in fuel prices between Wellington and the South Island compared to the rest of the North Island. Fuel prices are at their highest in three years, hitting 214.9c per litre for unleaded in central Wellington. "The Commerce Commission also needs to be able to self-initiate these studies where they see that markets are not doing a good job for New Zealanders.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 06, 2017 00:00 UTC