Fuel prices up again in latest review

Motorists will from midnight begin to dig deeper into their pockets to refill their tanks following the sharp increase in fuel prices announced by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Commission.

In the latest price revisions, petrol, diesel and kerosene prices have risen Sh5.43, Sh2.24 and Sh2.40 per litre respectively for Nairobi in what will have a huge effect on the cost of living.

This means petrol will now cost Sh112.03, Sh104.37 for diesel while kerosene consumers will pay Sh104.62.

EPRA Director General Pavel Oimeke attributed the sharp rise in the pump prices to the increased landing cost of the products and weaker shilling that depreciated 0.65 percent to the dollar over the period.

“Taking into account the weighted average cost of imported refined petroleum products, the changes in the maximum allowed pump prices in Nairobi are as follows; super petrol, diesel and kerosene increase by Sh5.43, Sh2.24 and Sh2.40 per litre respectively,” Mr Oimeke wrote.

Super petrol recorded the sharpest rise in landed cost, climbing 11.39 percent between March and April to $641.67 per tonne. Diesel and kerosene had increased by 2.75 and 2 per cent respectively over the same period.

Tuesday’s revisions represent the third month in a row of a sharp rise in petrol pump prices, which has maintained at least a Sh5 jump per litre since the March’s Sh101 per litre pricing.

Coming at a period when the country is still undergoing a depressed food situation, the high pump prices will worsen the country’s inflation, which had hit a 19-month high last month at 6.58 percent.

Transport — which makes the third weightiest factor after food and housing, water and electricity in measuring inflation, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics — has a ripple effect in other prices of goods including food.

In areas like Moyale, a litre of petrol will sell at as high as Sh121 per litre.

The prices now near the pre-VAT era when motorists enjoyed lower fuel prices favoured by the lowered international crude prices.

Fuel remains one of the most heavily taxed commodity with six levies and two taxes for petrol and diesel.

Kerosene users, who are exempted from the road maintenance levy, pay an anti-adulteration tax of Sh18 per litre. The product is now 25 cents more expensive than diesel for every litre sold.