No relief at the pump as super, kerosene prices rise
A fuel attendant at a petrol station. Nairobi motorists will for the next one month pay Sh99.59 per litre of petrol at the pump from Sh98. FILE PHOTO | NMG
What you need to know:
- Super petrol has increased by Sh1.59 while kerosene is up by Sh0.9.
- Diesel, which is mainly used to run trucks, buses and tractors, has decreased marginally after the ERC announced a cut of Sh0.57 per litre.
- The increase in petrol and kerosene prices highlight the pain that motorists and poor households will have to bear at the pump stations for the next 30 days until the next monthly review.
Sunday’s fuel price increase build on inflationary pressure that has pushed food prices beyond the reach of ordinary Kenyans.
Super petrol increased by Sh1.59 while kerosene rose by Sh0.9, highlighting the pain that motorists and poor households will have to bear at the pump stations for the next 30 days until the next monthly review.
Diesel, which is mainly used to run trucks, buses and tractors, decreased marginally after the Energy Regulatory Commission announced a cut of Sh0.57 per litre.
“The changes in the month’s prices have been as consequence of the average landed cost of imported super petrol increasing by 0.94 per cent from $563.62 per ton in March 2017 to $568.92 per ton in April 2017, diesel decreasing by 2.2 per cent from $504.83 per ton to 493.72 per ton and kerosene increasing by 1.93 per cent from $497.44 per to0n to 507.02 per ton,” said Mueni Mutunga, who signed the statement on behalf of ERC director-general.
Nairobi motorists will for the next one month pay Sh99.59 per litre of petrol at the pump from Sh98.
Consumers will buy the same commodity at Sh96.32 in Mombasa (cheapest location) and Sh107.84 in Wajir, which is the most expensive market for petroleum products in Kenya.
Kerosene, used mainly by poor households for lighting and cooking, will retail at Sh65.28 per litre in Nairobi, Sh62.52 in Mombasa and Sh73.53 in Wajir.
Diesel, which is used mainly by farmers and transporters, will retail at between Sh88.05 in Nairobi and Sh96.30 per litre in Wajir.
Petrol will retail at Sh100.32 in Nakuru, Sh101.50 in Eldoret and Sh105.57 per litre in Kisumu respectively. The fuel price increase is likely to worsen inflation that hit a 57-month high in March due to rising food prices that have pushed the rate further outside the government’s preferred ceiling.
Fuel contributes to the basket of goods that is used to calculate inflation and the increase is likely to worsen pressure on the cost of food.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data shows that inflation hit 10.28 per cent in March from 9.04 per cent the previous month. This is the highest rate since May 2012, the KNBS said and attributed the price rally to the recent drought that cut supply.
Food takes up the largest share (36 per cent) of the basket of goods that is used to calculate inflation, making it the main driver of the cost of living.
The Central Bank of Kenya has been struggling to keep inflation within the government’s preferred range of between 2.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent.
As a result of runaway inflation, maize flour retail prices have continued to rise, hitting the Sh144 mark for a two kilogramme packet.
At Sh144 for the two kilogramme packet, the price of maize has effectively risen by about Sh22 from last week’s Sh122.
The two kilogramme packet of maize flour dropped from a high of Sh153 last month following the release of a million bags of government held maize from the Strategic Food Reserves.
