No change in fuel prices for the next one month: Epra

The prices of super petrol, diesel and kerosene will remain unchanged for the next one month up to May 14 when next review is due, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra).

In a statement released on Wednesday afternoon, Epra said that the pump prices announced in March will remain in force until the next review.

Currently, a litre of petrol is retailing at Sh122.81 in Nairobi while diesel is being sold at Sh017.66, with the same amount of kerosene selling at Sh97.85.

The announcement by Epra comes as a relief to motorists and commuters as it had been anticipated that there would be a rise in fuel prices due to rising crude oil costs.

It had been anticipated that the price of petrol would increase by Sh4.30 to Sh127.11 per litre in Nairobi while diesel was expected to rise from Sh107.66 to Sh109.96. This would have seen the prices rise to the highest level since December 2018.

In Kisumu, a litre of petrol will retail at Sh123.36, diesel will sell for Sh108.46 while kerosene will cost Sh98.68 for a similar amount.

In Nakuru, petrol will be sold at Sh122.44 per litre, while diesel and kerosene will cost Sh107.55 and Sh97.76 respectively.

"The prices are inclusive of the 8 per cent value added tax (VAT) in line with the provisions of the Finance Act, 2018, the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2020 and the revised rates for excise duty adjusted for inflation as per Legal Notice No.194 of 2020," Epra said in its statement.

Global oil prices

A rally in the global oil prices in recent months has seen the cost of importing a litre of petrol increase by 38 per cent between January and March this year to Sh49.84 per litre from Sh36.01 while diesel has jumped from Sh36.96 to Sh46.82 per litre, a hike of 26 per cent.

Meanwhile, the cost of importing kerosene, which is primarily used by low-income households for cooking, rose by 27 per cent from Sh33.57 to Sh42.96 per litre.

Last month's drastic fuel price hike shone a spotlight on the excesses of fuel taxes, which make up an incredible 48 per cent of the retail cost of fuel. 

Another contributor to the high prices, apart from the landed cost and taxes, are the storage and distribution costs of the fuel after it has been imported, and profit margins for the oil marketing companies.

The high cost of fuel hit public service vehicles hard, having already been adversely affected by a reduction in their carrying capacity since last year due to Covid-19.

The high fuel prices have resulted to rising foods prices as traders are paying more to get their commodities to the consumer.

One the other hand, the recent increases in the price of diesel coincided with the country's planting season which continues in most parts of the country, with farmers contending with higher costs of farm inputs and expenses.

Diesel is heavily used in mechanised farming by thousands of farmers across the country. 

The high fuel prices, which have been retained by Epra, have also affected the cost of electricity.