In the high-stakes game of oil exploration New Zealand is frontier country.

Middle East tension poses a threat to the delicate global recovery.

Petrol prices have risen sharply overnight, nearing record highs.

Motorists face more increases in the price of petrol, which is likely to reach a new high, the Automobile Association is warning.

Gold hit a record high on world markets overnight, but equities fell as investors worried about the impact on consumer spending and corporate profits of high oil prices.

Petrol and diesel prices are on the up - but not in Christchurch.

A substantial petrol price rise is expected to increase the cost of living for earthquake-hit Christchurch residents in the coming days.

The bloody events in Libya have sent oil prices climbing and share prices falling. It could be the harbinger of worse to come.

Political unrest in Egypt could mean Kiwis paying more at the petrol pump, after oil prices climbed to their highest point in 28 months.

Rising gas levels have again stopped workers trying to recover the bodies of 29 men trapped inside the Pike River Coal mine today.

Temperatures inside the Pike River Coal mine continue to fluctuate, frustrating those charged with retrieving the bodies of 29 men killed in a series of explosions since November 19.

Commodities slid, taking stocks on Wall St. lower overnight, amid concern that rising food and raw materials prices would cut into corporate profits.