You will now spend less on fuel after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Wednesday announced a drop in the pump prices of all petroleum products, thanks to ease in global oil prices.
In the latest monthly pricing review that factored in a drop in the weighted average cost of imported petroleum products, motorists in Nairobi will enjoy a Sh3.74 reduction in the price of a litre of super petrol with the commodity now retailing at Sh91.39.
Changes
A litre of diesel has, on the other hand, dropped by Sh2.05 and will now retail at Sh82.46 while a litre of kerosene will now cost Sh59.10, a drop of Sh3.38.
“The changes in this month’s prices have been as a consequence of the average landed cost of imported super petrol decreasing by 8.86 per cent from $521.72 (Sh52,780) per tonne in July to $475.48 (Sh48,102) per tonne in August 2016,” said the regulator in a statement.
During the same period, ERC Director General Joseph Ng’ang’a added, the price of diesel decreased by 5.95 per cent to $441.19 (Sh44,633) per tonne.
Average landed cost of a tonne of Kerosene dropped by 8.52 per cent to $451.77 (Sh45,703).
The drop, coupled with a stable shilling, formed the basis for the pricing. “The mean monthly US dollar to the shilling exchange rate remained fairly stable at Sh101.42 per dollar in August compared to Sh101.39 in July,” explained the regulator.
The new prices, which will run until mid-October will see residents of Mombasa buy a litre of super petrol at Sh87.99 while diesel will go for Sh79.08. Residents of the coastal town will buy a litre of kerosene at Sh56.29.
In Kisumu, a litre of super petrol will set motorist back Sh93.42 while a similar quantity of diesel will set them back Sh84.65. For a litre of kerosene, which attracts Sh7.21 excise duty in bid to encourage uptake of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), consumers will part with Sh61.06.
While a litre of super petrol will cost a maximum of Sh92.17 in Nakuru, in Kakamega it will go for Sh93.49. A litre of diesel will be Sh83.41 and Sh84.73 respectively in the two towns.
In Eldoret, a litre of Kerosene will retail at Sh61.06, same as in Kisumu. The same will, however, retail slightly higher in Kakamega at Sh61.13.
Oil marketers will be required to sell super diesel at a maximum of Sh105.20 in Mandera, making it the most expensive town to purchase fuel unlike in Nairobi, where storage and distribution costs for a litre of petrol leaving the Mombasa Port amounts to Sh4.40.
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The relief in pump prices will, however, be short-lived, with the regulator warning consumers to brace for high prices in the next review.
According to the regulator, the free on board price for murban crude oil lifted in August was posted at $45.75 (Sh4,628) per barrel, being an increase of 2.58 per cent from $44.60 (Sh4,511) per barrel in July.
Consumers escaped the impact of this increase in the current pricing as a result of time lag of up to 45 days between placement of order and delivery of the cargo.
“A majority of the cargoes that have been used in this month’s pump price computation were July 2016 cargoes. Accordingly, the effects of the increase in crude oil prices mentioned will be realised locally in subsequent pricing cycles,” said the regulator.
In the previous pricing done in mid-August, all the three commodities had gone up. A litre of super petrol had increased by Sh2.20 while diesel and kerosene went up by Sh1.27 and 1.03 respectively.
Generally, low global oil prices appear to be far from over. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), world oil stock piles will persist into late 2017.
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