Kiwi motorists are being hit with another sharp rise at the pump, with petrol and diesel jumping nearly 30 cents a litre since the start of September as renewed turmoil in the Middle East threatens any prospect of quick relief.
The national average for 91 and diesel have jumped to $3.30 and $3.04 respectively in the past 28 days.
$3 a litre a 'mental barrier'
Waitomo chief executive Simon Parham said volatility had returned since the start of August, adding about 25 cents a litre to 91 and 35 cents to diesel.
"It's pushing us to and above that $3 mark, which is a real mental barrier. Above $3 we start to see demand destruction and volume does soften a bit."
Drivers were stretching every dollar and changing how they shopped, he said.
"Obviously $20 doesn't buy you what $20 did a month ago, so people are using what they've got, when they can and when they need to. Otherwise, they're looking at alternatives or just simply staying home."
Freight industry feeling the pressure
National Road Carriers Association chief operating officer James Smith said there was no sign of shortages and said an added buffer at Marsden Point gave the country "a little bit more of a shock absorber".
However, New Zealand remained exposed to spikes in the price of oil, he said.
"We are reliant on imported fuel, so it's very, very naive to think that that would not impact us from a price point of view."
Smith said essential freight would keep moving regardless.
"Supermarket shelves need to be restocked. Milk needs to be collected from farms. All that sort of stuff just can't stop because the price of diesel has gone up, so it is going to get absorbed."
No quick relief in sight
Neither Parham nor Smith expected quick relief.
Parham said prices looked set to hold "looking into November even" unless the Middle East situation changed, while Smith pointed to the approaching northern winter.
"You'll see increased demand for diesel because it's used as a heating oil in the northern hemisphere. So I would not be holding out much hope of any decrease in diesel price in the medium to [long term]," he said.
In Auckland, drivers were blunt about the shock at the pump. One motorist said the jump had caught him off guard. "All of a sudden it went from two dollars eighty something to all the way up over three dollars," he said, adding he was now taking the bus when he could.
A driver who fills up every week said her weekly spend was about to climb well beyond what she was used to.
"That's around 120, but now it's going to be a lot more than that," she said. "I don't even want to think."
Government monitoring prices
The Government said it was watching the price rises but that they did not yet warrant more help for households.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon pointed to existing support at his final post-Cabinet press conference ahead of the election..
"You've seen us continue with the fifty dollar a week in work tax credit for low and middle income working families. We've kept all the mileage rates the same."
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