Pump prices have remained unchanged despite a drop in the shipment costs of fuel, denying consumers from the anticipated relief.
According to the latest price review by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra), the retail price of a litre of petrol and diesel in Nairobi will remain at Sh174.63 and sh164.86 respectively in Nairobi from Thursday until June 14. Kerosene will continue to be sold at Sh148.99 per litre.
Petrol shipment costs fell by 2.95 percent to $588.16 (Sh76,331.40) per cubic metre last month, down from $606.06 (Sh78,581.73) for the same quantity in March. The cost of diesel dropped by 6.62 percent to $594.60 (Sh77,167.18) from $636.75 (Sh82,561) in the same period, which was expected to trigger price cuts in the new monthly cycle ending June 14.
A fall in fuel prices would have had a trickle-down impact on the economy and help to ease inflation, given that the Kenyan economy is largely diesel-driven. Service providers and manufacturers of goods, electricity generators and farmers factor the cost of fuel in pricing of their goods and services.
“In the period under review, maximum allowed petroleum pump prices for super petrol, diesel and kerosene remain unchanged,” Epra Director General, Daniel Kiptoo said in a notice gazetted on Wednesday afternoon.
Landed costs (a combination of cost of buying fuel and freight) are the biggest determinants of pump prices, underscoring why a drop in these costs is expected to trigger price cuts.
