Average petrol price above $3 in Christchurch
Sunday, 15 March 2026
The average price of petrol has crept past the $3 a litre mark at most stations in Christchurch over the weekend and continues to grow amidst turmoil in the Middle East.
Fuel price monitoring app Gaspy recorded 91 Octane prices as high as 315.9 cents a litre at ten Z service stations across the city as of midday Sunday.
The average price across Christchurch came to $3.02 a litre.
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The cheapest petrol in the city was 292.9 cents a litre at the Mobil stations in Redwood and Yaldhurst, but car users would need to travel to a Mobil in Kaiapoi for the cheapest fuel in Greater Christchurch.
It comes just days after the Australian Institute of Petroleum said prices of anywhere between $3 and $3.30 a litre for 91 Octane fuel could have been justified this week, based on key petrol and diesel benchmarks.
As previously reported, Singaporean benchmarks suggest petrol prices significantly above $3 a litre were on the cards, and diesel at $3 a litre was also a real possibility.
The Post’s Tom Pullar-Strecker reported New Zealand’s five bulk fuel importers - Z, BP, Mobil, Gull and Timaru Oil Services - had enough petrol in the country to meet normal demand for 33 days and diesel for 27 days, as of a week ago.
There were more supplies en-route but not yet within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone. In the face of supply concerns about diesel, Transporting NZ head Dom Kalasih has blamed panic buying for rising high prices.
In New Zealand, Commerce Commission commissioner Bryan Chapple said fuel prices were being actively monitored and so far no unjustified increases had been found.
The growing number of petrol stations selling petrol at $3 a litre, before discounts, became noticeable on Friday morning.
As of Sunday, even the price of petrol at Timaru’s NDP - known to be one of the cheapest pumps in the South Island - sat at 299.6 cents a litre.
The West Coast was home to the single most expensive petrol station, according to one Gaspy user who reported g.a.s in Harihari was 330.9 cents a litre on Saturday. In Fox Glacier and Franz Joseph/Waiau the price was 309.9.
Expert tips on saving fuel, without leaving the car at home
Although it does vary by model, many cars are at their most fuel-efficient about 80 kilometres per hour, and Hyundai NZ estimates driving at 110kph rather than 100kph usually increases fuel consumption by between 10% and 15%.
Turning off the air-con commonly saves about 10%, it says.
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) partnerships manager Richard Briggs recommends checking tyres monthly (when they’re “cold”, not after a trip). Incorrect tyre pressure can eat up 5% to 8% more fuel, he says.
Briggs advises motorists remove any unnecessary weight, such as bike racks or stuff left in the boot.
To cool down? “If you’re driving in a 50kph zone, open windows. Faster than that, the drag from open windows will counteract the benefits of turning your air-con off, so close them and switch on your cooling, if needed.”
Regular maintenance and wheel alignments can help, as will switching off the engine rather than idling for more than 30 seconds, he says.
“If you’re in the position to be looking for a new car, check the Vehicle Emissions and Energy Economy Label to find the most efficient car in your range and consider an EV – they’re significantly cheaper to run and maintain than petrol or diesel cars, so you could make petrol price anxiety a thing of the past.”
– Additional reporting by Tom Pullar-Strecker