The latest hike appeared to be led by Z Energy, which also supplies the Caltex stations.

Petrol prices are within touching distance of an all-time high, following the third increase in just over a week.

At stations in Wellington, Christchurch and many parts of the country where competition is limited, the price of regular petrol is currently 2.259 a litre.

It is the highest pump price since July 2013, when petrol prices hit 2.269 a litre.

STUFF Petrol prices are now just 1 cent a litre off an all time high at many stations across New Zealand.

The latest increase appeared to be led by Z Energy, which also supplies the Caltex stations, with prices rising by 3c a litre on Sunday afternoon.

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On Monday some BP stations appeared to match the increased in Wellington and Christchurch.

Z Energy blamed the recent increases on a fall in the value of the New Zealand dollar at the same time as the price of oil has risen.

"The New Zealand dollar is at its lowest point against the US dollar since December last year," a spokeswoman said.

"Brent crude oil continues to climb, the highest it's been since November 2014, on the back of geopolitical concerns and the US quitting the Iran deal and reinstating sanctions."

A spokeswoman for BP said the increases were "predominantly driven by changes in the US exchange rate which has fallen since the start of the month, and ongoing increases in the cost of product as crude oil reached its highest price since late 2014".

Petrol prices have been in the spotlight after an internal BP email revealed the nature of the tactics used to hike prices across a region to protect flagging sales.

BP was summoned for a meeting with Energy Minister Megan Woods, who said the email was a sign the industry could be "broken".