Kenyan motorists fail to gain from cheap crude oil as prices fall marginally

he commodity will be cheapest in Mombasa owing to its close proximity to the port. Super petrol will retail at Sh85.34 and diesel at Sh73.43.

NAIROBI: Petrol prices have dropped by a dismal Sh1.42 despite global oil prices sinking to a 12-year low. In figures released by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) yesterday, motorists will pay Sh86.64 for a litre of super petrol in Nairobi.

Diesel prices also declined by a marginal Sh1.81 to retail at Sh76.70 in the city. However, kerosene users will enjoy the largest drop of Sh7.17, as the commodity will be sold at a maximum of Sh46.1 per litre.

Global crude oil prices closed yesterday at $31 (Sh3,174) per barrel, which holds about 159 litres.

However, the commodity will be cheapest in Mombasa owing to its close proximity to the port. Super petrol will retail at Sh85.34 and diesel at Sh73.43. Kerosene users will sell at Sh43.44 a litre.

Motorists in Nakuru will pay Sh89.39 for super petrol and Sh77.64 diesel per litre. For households, a litre of kerosene will retail at Sh47.01 a litre. But in Eldoret, fuelling stations will collect Sh90.54 for a litre of super petrol, Sh78.78 for diesel and Sh48.04 for kerosene.

In Kisumu, the new prices, which will be in force up to mid next month, are Sh90.60 for a litre of Super petrol and Sh78.85 for diesel. Kerosene will be the cheapest at Sh48.03.

Mandera remains an expensive town for anyone wishing to buy petrol. A litre of super petrol will cost Sh102.45 per litre while diesel will retail at Sh90.51. Kerosine will be purchased at Sh59.94, cheaper by Sh7.14 compared to last month's.

While releasing the new retail pump prices, ERC Director General Joseph Ng'ang'a said the new prices have taken into consideration the new excise duty tax.

Under the new excise duty tax, which came into effect on December 1, 2015, a litre of diesel attracts  a Sh2.06 tax.

Ng'ang'a said the key driver of the drop in prices was  the average landed cost of imported super petrol that decreased by 4.32 per cent from $542.02 (Sh55,449) per tonne in November to $518.63 (Sh53,100) per tonne in December 2015.

Over the same period, diesel's average landed cost decreased by 7.63 per cent from $475.53 (Sh48,647) per tonne to $439.25 (Sh44,972) per tonne. The drop was largest for kerosene from $485.70 (Sh49,687) per tonne to $402.87.

However, during the same period, Kenyan shilling shed off 0.03 per cent of its November value to close December at a mean monthly exchange rate of Sh102.23 to the dollar. "The Free on Board (FOB) price for Murban crude oil lifted in December was posted at $37.25 per barrel, a decrease of 14.47 per cent from $43.55 per barrel in November last year," noted Ng'ang'a in a statement released yesterday.

In November last year, the same barrel was only 7.93 per cent cheaper compared to October.