Weak shilling helps push up retail pump prices

By Macharia Kamau

Kenya: The Energy Regulatory Commission has marginally changed the retail price of petroleum products this month. The marginal increase prompted by a weak shilling saw this month’s price for diesel increased by Sh0.89 a litre, with petrol and kerosene rising by Sh0.57 and Sh0.35 per litre respectively, according to ERC’s monthly guide that dictate maximum retail prices for commonly used petroleum products.

 The energy industry regulator forecast that prices would largely remain stable due to a relatively steady import prices over the month of April.

Following the latest adjustment, it means that super petrol will retail at Sh114.73 per litre in Nairobi compared to last month’s Sh114.16. Diesel will now retail at Sh104.71 while kerosene will retail at Sh82.81.

During April, average price of crude was $107.95 per barrel, a slight reduction from $108.30 per barrel in March. The local currency held steady against world major currencies, trading at an average of Sh86.75 against the dollar on average in April, which is comparable to Sh86.51 in March to reflect a modest drop. Petroleum products are among the largest imports by the country.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Kenya last year spent Sh23.7 billion on average a month on fuel products.

According to the release, the international price of murban crude for the month of April dropped by 0.32 per cent, while the shilling exchange rate to the dollar weakened by slightly over 0.28 per cent during the review period.