Iran war: Wide gap opens up between cost and price of fuel in latest monitoring report
Thursday, 9 April 2026
The cost of petrol and diesel imports dived on Wednesday but that hasn’t yet been reflected in prices at the pump where diesel is now sometimes fetching more than $4 a litre, fresh figures released by the country’s competition watchdog suggest.
The Commerce Commission said in its weekly price report issued this afternoon that the cost to fuel companies of imported 91-octane petrol was now only up by 54 cents a litre from its pre-conflict price, while its average retail price was up 93c.
It reported the refined cost of diesel was $1.13 a litre higher than immediately before hostilities with Iran began on February 28, but that its retail price was $1.92 higher.
Earlier in the week, the imported cost of 91 and diesel had peaked, respectively, 83c and $2.24 higher than the pre-war price, it estimated.
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The price of fuel at the pump continued to edge up today despite US President Donald Trump backing away from the brink of devastating attacks on Iranian infrastructure and agreeing a temporary ceasefire.
The average price of diesel had risen to $3.88 a litre this afternoon, according to price comparison site Gaspy, with 91 octane petrol selling for an average of $3.48 a litre.
The diesel price cracked $4 at some service stations in metropolitan areas, according to users of the app, with two BP service stations in South Auckland said to be pricing the fuel at a fraction of a cent under $4.10 a litre.
Brent crude, for June delivery, was trading just over US$96 a barrel this afternoon, little changed from when the ceasefire was announced on Wednesday and down from its late-March high of US$119 a barrel.
The Commerce Commission hasn’t so far levelled any accusations of price gouging at petrol companies, having previously noted that there were times earlier in the fuel crunch when increases in the cost of refined fuels had not been fully reflected in their pump prices.
It also said today that there was “volatility and cost changes in the current markets” that would not be reflected in its price monitoring statistics.
Uncertainty about likely developments in the Middle East continues to hang over the fuel market.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran had told mediators it would limit the number of ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz to about 12 a day and charge tolls during the ceasefire while the US was pushing for “a free and open strait”.
Auckland Business Chamber chief executive Simon Bridges cautioned on Wednesday that Kiwis should not assume the fuel crunch was over.
“It’s good to see the ceasefire, but the realist in me says we’ve seen a lot of ups and downs so far and we’re not quite out of those yet,” he said.
“Internationally, leaders in the likes of Singapore and other parts of Asia are cautioning that the downside scenarios are still there and I think that, sadly, that probably has some realism to it,” he said.
Iran and Gulf Arab countries reported new attacks hours after the ceasefire announcement, according to news agency AP, though it was not clear if the strikes would mean an end to the fragile truce.