The price of a litre of super petrol and diesel has risen by Sh5 as the heat of the ongoing Russia/Ukraine crisis hits back home.
The pricing of kerosene that’s chiefly in use by both rural and urban families as a means of cooking ,lighting has been retained at Sh103.54 per litre.
According to the latest monthly price review by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), a litre of super petrol is retailing at Sh134.72 in Nairobi from sh129.72 while diesel is up to sh115.60 from sh110.60.
Kenyan consumers have in recent past been shielded from skyrocketing global oil prices by the government through a subsidy fund introduced in July last year.
The subsidy that is supported by billions of shillings raised from fuel consumers through the Petroleum Development Levy, which was increased to sh5.40 a litre in July last year from sh0.40, represented a 1,250 per cent rise.
pain of the fuel prices
A hike in monthly fuel prices is coming days after Oil Marketing Companies deliberated on a way forward after the government indicated it would be difficult to sustain the subsidy as global prices skyrocket because of the Russia/Ukraine crisis.
As of yesterday, the international benchmark, Brent crude, spiked from 8.54 per cent to $128.2(sh14,592). This had marketers projecting a litre of super petrol to go above sh150 in absence of the governments plan on rising global prices.
On Monday, EPRA attributed the increase to a double rate jump on imported crude oil. For instance, landed cost for a cubic metre of super petrol rose by 13.4 per cent in February to $676.4 (Sh77,109) compared to $596.79 (Sh68,035) in January.
Diesel increased by 11.74 per cent from $606.17 (Sh69,103) to $677.31 (Sh77,213) per cubic metre while that of kerosene increased by 15.94 per cent to $619.31(Sh70,566) per cubic metre.
The increase in fuel prices is expected to increase pressure on the cost of living as traders push the high import costs to end consumers.
