Gull’s fuel pumps were non-stop yesterday after fuel prices plummeted below $2.20 per litre.
The fuel station dropped its prices by 20 cents for 48 hours, with Masterton’s branch offering $2.18 per litre for 91, $2.48 for 98 and $2.09 for diesel. The discount will finish at noon today.
Masterton residents filling up on Thursday said they couldn’t believe it was so cheap.
“I usually fill up at Pak’n’Save because I get the 6-cent discount with groceries,” one resident said. “But I saw on Snapchat that it was only $2.18, so I came here.”
Another resident said she did a quick U-turn when she saw the price at Gull.
“I was going to fill up at Pak’n’Save, but then I saw here was cheaper, so I turned around.
“I can’t remember the last time it was this cheap. It’s good to see the petrol price come down. “
Other Masterton fuel stations also reduced their prices, with Pak’n’Save at $2.27 per litre, and Mobil and Waitomo at $2.37 per litre for 91.
However, Napier Gull was offering $2 and Petone, Lower Hutt was at $1.95 per litre.
Gull New Zealand general manager Dave Bodger said the discount was their way of thanking the customers.
“This discount will cost us a bloody fortune. Twenty cents is a whale of a lot. It’s Christmas time; we’re simple folk, and times are tough. We would like to pay our customers back.”
He said they had plenty of fuel but couldn’t guarantee it would last till the end of the discount.
In October, the lowest fuel price in Wairarapa was Allied Tom Wilson in Martinborough at $2.56 per litre. In Masterton, the cheapest at the time was $2.59 per litre. Upper Hutt’s most expensive fuel prices at the time didn’t touch Wairarapa’s cheapest.
With the government’s 25-cent fuel tax cut coming to an end in March next year, road users are bracing for a rapid price increase.
A Masterton resident said the news wasn’t great, but it had to happen. “I’m more worried about other living costs, like food.”
