More misery for consumers as petrol prices edge past the Sh100 mark

A petrol station attendant fuels a car. The latest fuel pump prices hike is a double blow to Kenyans who are already reeling from high food prices. [photo: file]

Consumers will now face an additional strain on their monthly budgets to meet the cost of fuel whose pump prices went up in the latest review by the industry regulator.

Kenyans will over the next month pay more for petrol, diesel and kerosene after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) increased the cost of all the three commodities, adding to the burden of food prices that are currently at a nine-month high.

In the review released yesterday, the price of super petrol has increased by Sh4.26 per litre while a similar quantity of diesel will now retail at Sh5.03 more.

The price of kerosene, popular with most low-income households, has also shot up by Sh3.75. On average, Kenyans consume about 126,294,000 litres of petrol, 203,080,000 litres of diesel and 122,723,000 litres of kerosene.

This means with the jump in prices, Kenyans will spend Sh2 billion more in the next one month.

Following the latest price review, petrol will retail above Sh100 per litre mark in most parts of the country with Mandera bearing the brunt at Sh114.08 per litre.

In Nairobi, a litre of petrol will beginning today retail at a maximum of Sh100.27, making it the first time in as many months that city residents are paying more than Sh100 for the commodity. For diesel, Nairobi residents will now part with Sh89.26 for a litre of the commodity while kerosene will set consumers back Sh67.19.

Many towns will buy a litre of diesel at above Sh90 while kerosene will retail at above Sh69 in most regions.

“The price of crude oil in the world markets recorded an increase of 20 per cent between November 2016 and January 2017. This led to increases in the prices of refined petroleum products,” ERC Ag Director-General Robert Oimeke told the press yesterday.

According to data from ERC, every month Kenyans consume about 126.3 litres of petrol, 203.080 million litres of diesel and 123 million litres of kerosene. Cumulatively, therefore, consumers will pay Sh2.02 billion more on the three commodities. The expenditure could be higher when consumption of jet fuel that averages 70 million litres per month is factored in.

The sharp rise in prices comes at a time when ERC plans to introduce a price stabilisation fund to cushion consumers from sharp increases.

Mr Oimeke said the process calls for stakeholder consultations before the regulator can come up with a framework.

With Kenya being a net importer of refined oil, the applicable pump prices that will run from today up to mid-March, will be reflected in pump prices. The changes in price of petrol, according to ERC, were necessitated by average landed cost of imported super petrol, which increased by $44.82 (Sh4,638) or 8.45 per cent per tonne in the period between December last year and January.

Over the period, average landed cost of a tonne of diesel rose by $53.94 (Sh5,599) while that of kerosene went up by $36.29 (Sh3,764).

The free on board price of Murban crude oil, the benchmark oil for global prices, was posted at $55.35 (Sh5,742) per barrel, an increase of 2.22 per cent from $54.15 (Sh5,617) per barrel in December.