New Zealand's fuel stocks remain above minimum levels, with petrol and jet fuel dipping slightly and diesel rising in the Government's latest update.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) published its latest fuel stock data this afternoon, showing 53.1 days of petrol cover, 49.1 days of diesel and 53.7 days of jet fuel as at 11.59pm on Wednesday, May 20.
Petrol dropped from 54 days' cover to 53.1, while jet fuel fell from 55 to 53.7 days.
Diesel bucked the trend, climbing from 46 to 49.1 days' cover.
MBIE said fuel importers had confirmed orders through to late June, with planned orders extending into August. Thirteen fuel ships were on the water as at the same reporting date, three within New Zealand's exclusive economic zone and 10 outside it.
Ships within the EEZ included the Esteem Discovery, Sea Odyssey and STI Virtus.
Among the 10 vessels further out were the Chang Hang Fei Yue, Chang Hang Kai Tuo, Hafnia Mikala and Pacific Sunstone.
In-country stocks sat at 32.4 days for petrol, 21.6 for diesel and 29.7 for jet fuel.
MBIE said stock movements reflected normal shipping patterns and routine variations consistent with what would be expected even without the conflict in the Middle East.
Last Wednesday, the Government confirmed permanent changes to some heavy vehicle regulations aimed at cutting fuel use amid the global energy supply shock.
The change included for heavier zero-emission vehicles and scrapping permit requirements for some trucking operations.
The Transport Minister said the Government had made sensible trade-offs, adding that "getting ahead of the problem now helps reduce the impact if global conditions worsen".
MBIE also warned last week that total stocks were likely to decrease in coming weeks as the country works through supplies delivered by a wave of large shipments in late April.
The ministry has been publishing twice-weekly fuel updates since early March, when it convened the fuel sector coordinating entity under the national fuel plan following the escalation of conflict in the Middle East.
Days' cover is calculated using average daily demand of 8.1 million litres of petrol, 10.7 million litres of diesel and 4.8 million litres of jet fuel.
The next update is due on Wednesday afternoon.
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