PM Edition: Top 10 Economic Articles on LiveNews.co.nz for April 18, 2026 – Full Text

Source: Radio New Zealand

Consumers have tightened their belts amid the global fuel crisis, and it’s hitting some retailers hard, according to Retail New Zealand.

The latest data released on Friday from Stats NZ, which records spending by electronic card, showed consumers had cut back on fuel consumption in March.

It followed soaring prices and fears of shortages as the Strait of Hormuz – a key oil route – remained blocked by war in the Middle East.

Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen told Checkpoint electricity and petrol were up 13 percent while diesel was up 37 percent.

Retail New Zealand chief executive Carolyn Young said the impact on discretionary spending became clear throughout March.

“As consumers became more concerned and confidence dropped, certainly a sector like apparel which is really about discretionary spending, it really nose-dived and for the month it was down 4.2 percent.

“That’s really taken a hit early on in the Middle East crisis.”

Young said apparel was always the first sector to feel the crunch when the economy turned, with shoppers needing to spend their money on essentials such as fuel and groceries.

Increased supplier costs such as freight were also driving up retail prices, Young said.

“Just like shoppers, retailers are having to bear the impacts of increased fuel prices, not just in freight but in a range of other retail services like rubbish and recycling collection.

“Additionally, we are hearing from our members that the caution being seen at the pump is now flowing through to an overall drop in discretionary spending in retail in April.”

Young said she didn’t want indefinite price hikes to accommodate high fuel costs.

“What we don’t want to see is suppliers just increasing the bottom line.

“We’d rather see that there would be a temporary increase in price which was related directly to the fuel in that it would be reviewable in a month or two just to make sure that we’re not going to raise the bottom line price and keep it there going forward.”

She said Retail New Zealand would be looking to advise retailers and suppliers next week on price transparency.

Meanwhile, the Stats NZ figures showed the overall card spend on total retail for March was up 2.7 per cent compared to March last year, with fuel up 10.2 percent to $583 million.

“New Zealanders spent $583 million on fuel last month, which on its face looks like a sizeable jump from the $460 million spent in February,” Young said.

“However, March is always the country’s biggest month for fuel usage.

“So, if you compare last month’s fuel spend to the amount spent in March 2024 ($591 million), for example, we see a decline, despite the cost of petrol and diesel being much, much higher.”

The average cost of diesel in March 2024 was $2.17 per litre, while the March 2026 average was $2.61 per litre.

For 91 unleaded, the average cost in March 2024 was $2.80 per litre, while last month it was $2.98 per litre.

April averages were expected to higher again.

“In reality, we would have expected to see the amount spent on fuel last month to have increased beyond $600 million if New Zealanders did not change their fuel using habits,” Young said.

“These numbers show us that people are cutting back on their discretionary travel, which is now impacting retailers.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/04/18/retailers-taking-a-hit-from-high-fuel-prices/