| Regular 91 | ⇧ | 48.8 cpl | 41.2% |
| Premium 95 | ⇧ | 52.3 cpl | 41.9% |
| Premium 98 | ⇧ | 39.2 cpl | 27.6% |
| Diesel | ⇧ | 77.7 cpl | 57.2% |
Our role
The Commerce Commission (the Commission) is an independent Crown entity that administers and enforces laws relating to competition, fair trading, consumer credit and economic regulation. We have responsibilities for monitoring and regulating engine fuel markets in New Zealand under the Fuel Industry Act 2020 (the Act). The Act’s purpose is to promote competition in engine fuel markets for the long-term benefit of end users of engine fuel products.1
The Act provides that, in monitoring of the performance of the market, the Commission may analyse and summarise any information disclosed to us and publish any resulting analysis or summary.2 Information is disclosed by fuel importers, wholesale suppliers and distributors on a quarterly and/or annual basis under the Fuel Industry Regulations 2021 (the Regulations). Information disclosed relates to fixed wholesale contracts, certain financial statements, certain formulas and volumes, discounting and loyalty programmes, storage capacity, and retail sites and fuel supply.3
These quarterly monitoring reports are based on the information disclosed to us by fuel importers (ID data).4 Five companies currently import fuel into New Zealand: BP, Gull, Mobil, Timaru Oil Services Limited (TOSL), and Z Energy.5
Monitoring engine fuel markets allows for a deeper understanding of the competitive dynamics over time through observing patterns and trends. Our reports ‘shine a light’ on what is happening in the fuel markets to promote transparency and improve awareness of the factors influencing prices for consumers.
The Commission also has an enforcement role in relation to the obligations on fuel industry participants under the Act.6 We monitor compliance with the requirements of the Act and, if we have concerns about potential non-compliance, we may investigate further.
All Quarterly Fuel Monitoring Reports up to the quarter ending 31 March 2025 used importer cost data published by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).7 For reports from the quarter ending 30 June 2025, we use a revised importer cost model. As a result, references to “importer costs” in future reports will no longer reference MBIE as a source. The biggest difference between our approach and MBIE’s is the inclusion of the costs of operating fuel terminals. For a detailed explanation of the differences between MBIE’s importer costs and our own, please refer to the accompanying explanatory note.
The wholesale fuel market
Importers and wholesale suppliers sell fuel to wholesale customers (including distributors, dealers, other importers and commercial end users) as well as retail customers.8 Fuel sales in the wholesale market are usually made through fixed wholesale contracts, although there is an opportunity for wholesale customers, under certain circumstances, to purchase fuel on an ad hoc basis using a spot price or an importer’s published terminal gate price (TGP) for the relevant terminal.
The Act introduced a number of requirements for fuel industry participants, including conditions regarding TGPs and fixed wholesale contract terms. As prescribed in the Act, from July 2023, TGPs may be subject to price regulation.9
We present the information disclosed to us by the different types of wholesale customer, particularly focussing on sales to distributors and dealers rather than on sale type (ie, contract or ad hoc sales).10 Prices, costs, and margins are the average for the quarter of data presented (usually a national average, weighted by volume sold). Wholesale prices include handling and delivery costs but exclude all other taxes and charges, to enable a simpler comparison with importer costs.11
Wholesale price changes from March 2026 to June 2026
| Regular 91 | Premium 95 | Premium 98 | Diesel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2026 | 167.2 | 177.2 | 181.2 | 213.4 |
| Mar 2026 | 118.4 | 124.9 | 142.0 | 135.7 |
| Dec 2025 | 112.4 | 120.0 | 129.5 | 116.0 |
| Sep 2025 | 108.2 | 113.9 | 126.2 | 110.8 |
| Jun 2025 | 106.4 | 113.0 | 126.2 | 104.3 |
| Mar 2025 | 117.2 | 123.1 | 137.5 | 117.8 |
| Dec 2024 | 108.6 | 118.8 | 129.4 | 108.0 |
| Sep 2024 | 114.7 | 123.9 | 132.5 | 114.0 |
Source: Commerce Commission.
Note: Wholesale prices are for fixed wholesale contracts only. TOSL is excluded to be consistent with other parts of the report.
Wholesale prices and components
Breakdowns of the components of contracted wholesale prices and trends over time are shown in figures 1 to 3.
Source: Commerce Commission.
Note: Numbers may not add up due to rounding.
Source: Commerce Commission.
Note: Numbers may not add up due to rounding.
Source: Commerce Commission.
Note: Numbers may not add up due to rounding.
Wholesale margins are a useful metric to monitor the performance of the wholesale market as they can act as an indicator of either increased or reduced competition. A reduced wholesale margin can indicate an increase in competition whereas increases in the margin can indicate reduced competition, assessed over the medium- to long-term. The wholesale margin is the difference between the cost to the importers of purchasing, shipping and storing fuel into New Zealand (importer costs) and the price (less taxes and charges) that importers receive for the fuel sold to wholesale customers.
| Regular 91 | ⇧ | 8.6 cpl | 154.4% |
| Premium 95 | ⇧ | 12.0 cpl | 200.4% |
| Diesel | ⇧ | 20.5 cpl | 141.9% |
Wholesale margin changes from March 2026 to June 2026
Wholesale margins by island
Prior analysis suggests North Island margins have tended to be higher and decrease over time, while South Island margins have tended to be lower and increase over time. We are adding these graphs to the wholesale section of our report to monitor these margins over time.
Source: Commerce Commission.
Source: Commerce Commission.
Wholesale customers
Below, we focus on dealers and distributors as well as multi-sourcing of fuel supply. About 80% of wholesale volumes sold by importers are to dealers and distributors. Typically, distributors are able to source their supply from more than one importer, whereas (with rare exceptions) dealers are contracted to purchase from a single supplier and have no option to source from multiple suppliers.12 Sourcing fuel from more than one supplier can promote competition as wholesale customers can negotiate with multiple suppliers, potentially giving them greater leverage to obtain lower prices. The Regulations provide that no single contract may require a reseller (other than dealers) to purchase more than 80% of their fuel requirements from any one supplier in a year.13
We monitor any supplier switching and multi-sourcing taking place over time to provide insight on the impact of the Act and Regulations on the wholesale market.
Source: Commerce Commission.
For a breakdown by different customer types (dealer, distributor, commercial end user and importer), see Table 14, Table 15, Table 16 and Table 17 for wholesale prices, and Table 18 for sales volumes.
For a breakdown of the components of the wholesale prices for dealers and distributors showing importer costs and wholesale margins, see Table 19 for Regular 91, and Table 20 for diesel.
Terminal gate pricing
The terminal gate pricing regime under the Act was introduced to work together with the wholesale contract regulations to create the conditions for a more active wholesale fuel market in New Zealand. To achieve more transparent wholesale prices, the regime requires wholesale suppliers to post a TGP for each fuel type that it has the right to draw at a bulk storage facility.14 See Attachment B for further information on the regime and our approach to monitoring TGPs.
While we have not seen a significant number of ad hoc TGP sales since monitoring commenced, the TGP regime has a role in promoting competition by providing a publicly visible reference point that is used in a portion of the importers’ wholesale contracts with their customers. The regime could also incentivise spot sales under existing contractual arrangements (rather than being formally sold under the TGP regime).
Our analytical focus is to compare TGPs with importer costs and wholesale contract prices (rather than retail prices), as any movement towards these reference points could lead to more competitive outcomes, such as lower retail prices.
Additionally, Australian TGPs are used as a reference point for what we might expect a workably competitive TGP market to look like. When comparing TGPs in Australia and New Zealand, we have removed the taxes that apply in each country to ensure a consistent comparison and have converted the Australian TGPs into New Zealand dollars.15
TGPs are the average for the quarter or month of data presented (shown as the average for the supplier or sometimes for New Zealand or Australia). The Australian TGP data covers the seven main port locations in Australia. The ‘New Zealand average range’ is the range of average TGPs by supplier as shown in Attachment B.
We use MBIE data to remove taxes and levies (including the ETS) from the terminal gate prices to make them comparable with importer cost and Australian TGPs.
Source: Commerce Commission; MBIE; Australian importer websites; Australian Institute of Petroleum.
Source: Commerce Commission; MBIE; Australian importer websites; Australian Institute of Petroleum.
Source: Commerce Commission; MBIE; Australian importer websites; Australian Institute of Petroleum.
The retail fuel market
In this chapter we review competition in the retail market, summarising trends in retail fuel prices as well as importer costs and margins. Our analysis for these quarterly monitoring reports is based on the information disclosed to us by fuel importers (ID data).16 That means our analysis of retail sites is confined to those sites that are operated or owned by importers and does not include independent operators, such as NPD or Waitomo. The five companies that currently import fuel into New Zealand are BP, Gull, Mobil, TOSL, and Z Energy.17
Prices, costs, discounts and margins are the average for the quarter of data presented (usually a national average, although the price variation analysis by cities uses city averages).
We present average prices or discounts weighted by volumes sold. This reflects the prices consumers actually paid and the market share of each importer, as well as the magnitude of their effect on the average prices and discounts.18
| Regular 91 | ⇧ | 53.0 cpl | 19.6% |
| Premium 95 | ⇧ | 55.7 cpl | 19.5% |
| Premium 98 | ⇧ | 55.4 cpl | 18.3% |
| Diesel | ⇧ | 99.8 cpl | 45.6% |
Retail price changes from March 2026 to June 2026
Retail prices and components
Breakdowns of the components of the retail board price and trends over time are shown in Figure 10 to Figure 12 below.19
Source: Commerce Commission.
Note: Numbers may not add up due to rounding.
Source: Commerce Commission.
Note: Numbers may not add up due to rounding.