INTERNATIONAL – Kenya's energy industry regulator on Wednesday reduced retail pump prices for super petrol and diesel while it increased kerosene prices in the latest review for August to mid-September.
Robert Pavel Oimeke, director-general of Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), said the prices of super petrol which is mostly consumed by private vehicles dropped by 2.86 Kenyan shillings (about 3 US cents) to 112.53 shillings per liter.
Diesel used to power commercial vehicles decreased by 3.28 shillings to 100.60 shillings per liter while kerosene mainly used by households for lighting and cooking increased by 1.98 shillings to 103.95 shillings per liter.
"The pump prices are inclusive of 8 percent value added tax (VAT) in line with the provisions of Finance Act 2018 and the revised rates for excise duty adjusted for inflation," Oimeke said in a statement issued in Nairobi.
He said the changes resulted from a 5.64 percent drop in average landed cost of imported super petrol, which decreased from 528.26 dollars per cubic meter in June to 498.46 dollars per cubic meter in July.
Oimeke said the average landed cost of diesel decreased by 7.11 percent from 519.39 dollars per cubic meter to 482.47 dollars per cubic meter and kerosene increased by 1.88 percent from 503.63 dollars per cubic meter to 513.10 dollars per cubic meter.
Fuel prices have a significant impact on inflation in Kenya which depends heavily on diesel for transport, power generation and agriculture, while kerosene is used in many households for lighting and cooking.