Massive jump in diesel
The price of diesel rocketed by 42.6 per cent between February and March, according to Stats NZ, while petrol prices jumped by 18.6 per cent.
The increases were the largest for both fuel types since the New Zealand’s official data agency started publishing monthly price movements for vehicle fuels in July 2011.
The rises follow declines for petrol and diesel in January and February.
Prices for these two fuel types also increased in the 12 months to March 2026 – petrol was up 13.9 per cent and diesel by 36.9 per cent.
Stats NZ collects vehicle fuel prices using a combination of administrative information directly from petrol companies and weekly prices it collects at the pumps.
Average petrol and diesel prices are calculated from this data to reflect changes experienced by households across the country.
As for flying, domestic airfares decreased by 14.4 per cent and international airfares increased by 3.5 per cent in March when compared with February.
In the 12 months to March, flights around the motu dropped by 7.3 per cent and international airfares rose by 9.8 per cent. Travellers typically book and pay for airfares in advance, so price changes reflect fares that were set up to 12 months ago, notes Stats NZ.
