Advisory – Commission's latest fuel monitoring report (to 18 March)
The Commerce Commission has published its latest fuel monitoring report in response to the conflict in the Middle East and the impact on global fuel prices.
Our latest analysis (to 18 March) shows that while retail prices are still rising, retailers do not appear to be increasing prices faster than their costs. Refined fuel costs have stabilised at elevated levels, and national retail prices have continued to climb by around 55 cents per litre for petrol and 90 cents per litre for diesel since the start of the Iran conflict. Overall, the steady pace of these increases suggests that at a national level, fuel retailers are not overreacting to spikes in costs.
The Commission has increased its monitoring and scrutiny of petrol pump prices in response to higher and more volatile global wholesale prices, and will not hesitate to call out unjustified price increases at the pump. The reports analyse retail fuel price movements and compare them with changes in the cost of importing fuel.