The amount of diesel in New Zealand has dropped below three weeks’ worth, with the latest update also revealing the departure of one small shipment has been delayed.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment suggested this was because of congestion and delays in Singapore.

“As some countries have closed their export facilities, more vessels are using Singapore as their primary loading hub - leading to congestion and delays.

“The fuel companies have confirmed that supply chains continue to operate, although these types of delays are likely to become more common.”

The update shows 25.3 days’ worth of petrol in-country, 20.8 days’ worth of diesel, and 21.3 days’ worth of jet fuel.

When taking into account fuel on water - meaning on ships arriving in New Zealand within three weeks - there is 56.3 days’ worth of petrol, 45.4 days’ worth of diesel and 47 days’ worth of jet fuel.

“The latest update shows national fuel stocks remain stable with sufficient stock levels across petrol, diesel and jet fuel,” said MBIE.

“The data released today shows a decrease across all fuel types since the last update on 13 April.

“Although this is the second consecutive update with drops in total fuel stock, these changes do not raise any immediate concerns.”

This compares to, New Zealand last Wednesday having 25.6 days of petrol in-country, 21.7 days of diesel and 25.1 days of jet fuel.

With more fuel on-water, New Zealand’s stock of petrol was previously at 59.7 days’ worth, 49.1 days of diesel and 50.7 days of jet fuel.