Relief for Kenyans as petrol price drops by Ksh.18, lowest since 2017

Kenyans will see an all rounded relief in the costs of fuel as the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) institutes’ massive cuts on prices.

Petrol and kerosene users see the largest relief as the maximum pump prices for the commodities fall by Ksh.18 and Ksh.18.18 respectively.

Diesel prices meanwhile are set to fall by Ksh4 a litre effective midnight Wednesday in the biggest relief to fuel costs in recent years.

EPRA has attributed the relief to the fall in international prices which has seen the country’s fuel import bill reduce significantly.

“The changes in this month’s prices are as a consequence of the average landed cost of imported super petrol decreasing by 34.6 per cent from Ksh.50,047.28 ($472.59) per cubic meter in February 2020 to Ksh.32,726.28 in March,” noted EPRA in a statement issued on Thursday.

Diesel user will miss out on the big relief registered by petrol and kerosene users from the procurement of product in February but will be due for a notable downward adjustment in future reviews.

“It is worth noting that Diesel cargoes used in the computation of this month’s prices were procured in February 2020 when crude prices were relatively high. Accordingly, the effect of the recent crash in crude prices will be reflected in the retail price of diesel in subsequent reviews,” added EPRA.

The Covid-19 crisis across the globe has seen the demand for crude oil plummet leading to the historical corrections in prices which in early March hit their lowest in nearly three decades.

Kenyans will now enjoy the low prices as all three products retail below Ksh.100 a litre for the first time since late 2017 in the capital Nairobi.

Petrol will now retail at Ksh.92.87 a litre while diesel and kerosene drops to Ksh.97.56 and Ksh77.28 respectively.

The lower fuel prices are expected to have a positive knock on effect on consumer prices with inflation now set to fall from the rate of 6.06 per cent registered at the end of March.

The lesser costs come on the back of the agreement by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia last week to cut production by nearly 10 million barrels a day to stabilize prices amidst last month historical plunge in costs.

The cut in production has nevertheless been termed as insignificant by players in the sector as the recorded fall in demand out way the cuts to supply.

This has seen global oil prices remain on the decline with Brent Crude being quoted at Ksh.3, 302.35 ($31.48) a barrel in early trading Tuesday.

The new adjustments in fuel costs take effect on Tuesday midnight until May 14.