NZ motorists see average price of 91 petrol dip below $3
Monday, 29 June 2026
The average price of 91 petrol has dipped below $3, according to price monitoring site Gaspy, but the reprieve may be short-lived and one expert is advising motorists to fill up over the next week or two.
It fell below the threshold just before 10am on Monday, according to Gaspy.
Prices have been easing despite renewed hostilities in the Middle East.
Tehran said it had fired at US military installations in Gulf countries after the US struck Iranian sites, but US officials said a wave of Iranian drone and missiles fired late Saturday did not hit their intended targets, according to CNN.
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The Government won’t remove the $50 weekly tax credit it put in place in April to help low to middle-income working families with children cope with higher fuel prices until the average price of 91 petrol remains below $3 for four consecutive weeks, or until the anniversary of the support being introduced in April next year.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis said earlier this month that the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment would provide the data that would let the Government decide whether the average petrol price had been sustained over a four-week period.
“Then it still needs to go to Cabinet, because an order in council needs to be passed,” she said.
Brent crude for September delivery was trading at about US$73 a barrel, only a few dollars above its price before the joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28.
AA policy adviser Terry Collins said he was surprised the price of oil had dropped back as far as it had, given the situation in the Middle East was not fully resolved, hostilities were continuing, and inventories had been run down.
The price of 91 at petrol stations near Seaview in Wellington had fallen to about $2.75 a litre, among the cheapest in the country, he noted.
But he said that at the current oil price, there was room for the nationwide average to come down further.
“There’s room for margins to come down a bit. I expect prices to soften this week, and a little bit next week as well.
“If you can afford it, I’d be filling up the car at the end of this week or next week, because I think that's about as good as we’re going to get for a while.”