The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said the prices of super petrol will go down by 0.40 shillings to 90.06 shillings (0.88 U.S. dollars) per litre, kerosene dropped by 1.54 shillings to retail at 53.27 shillings (0.52 dollars) per litre while diesel also by 1.15 shillings to sell at 78.57 shillings (0.77 dollars) per litre.
“In line with exercise duty Act of 2015, one cargo of diesel has been increased by 2.06 shillings a litre. The other diesel cargoes considered in this price review remain unaffected since their dates of discharge were before the effective date of the new exercise tax Dec 1,” said ERC Director General Engineer Joseph Ng’ang’a.
The regulator attributed the drop to reduced cost of the products in the international markets by as much as 6 per cent between October and November.
“The general reduction in petroleum prices during this period was a consequence of the average landed cost of imported super petrol decreasing by 0.88 per cent from 546.85 U.S. dollars per tonne in October to 542.02 dollars per tonne in November.
In addition, the average landed cost of imported kerosene decreased by 4.93 per cent from 510.88 dollars per tonne to 485.7 dollars per tonne,” he said.
International crude oil prices have been on the decline recently following the failure by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to agree on a proposal to scale down output in order to curb oversupply.
The Free On Board (FOB) price of Murban crude oil lifted in November was posted at 43.55 dollars per barrel, a decrease of 7.93 percent from 47.30 dollars per barrel in October.
Market experts say the new prices could see the cost of living generally go down slightly given the heavy reliance on petrol, kerosene and diesel for transport, energy generation and agriculture especially among the low income earners who use kerosene for cooking.
Fuel prices have a significant impact on inflation in an economy which depends heavily on diesel for transport, power generation and agriculture, while kerosene is used in many households for lighting and cooking.
The regulator assured the public of its continued commitment to the observance of the principles of fair competition and the protection of the interests of both consumers and investors in the energy sector.
The purpose of the fuel pricing regulation is to cap the pump prices of the products which are already in the country, such as the importation and other prudently incurred costs are recovered, while ensuring reasonable prices to consumers. Enditem
Source: Xinhua
