Fuel prices to remain unchanged for another month

Fuel prices will remain unchanged for another month, the energy regulator has announced.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) said petrol will retail at Sh214.03 per litre and diesel at Sh217.86 per litre in Nairobi. Kerosene also remains unchanged at Sh191.38. 

Prices vary across the country's 223 pricing towns depending on distance from the point of importation, with towns in the north and northeast — including Mandera at Sh234.68 for petrol — recording the highest pump prices in the country.

The unchanged retail prices come despite a mixed month for international oil markets. Epra said the average landed cost of imported super petrol fell 7.87 percent, from $948.92 per cubic metre in July to $874.26 in August. Diesel moved in the opposite direction, rising 11.86 percent from $855.59 to $957.05 per cubic metre, while kerosene rose 9.71 per cent from $915.01 to $1,003.87 over the same period.

A breakdown of the cost build-up for Nairobi shows that the stable pump prices were partly cushioned by the price stabilisation mechanism, which absorbed a surplus of Sh1.28 per litre on petrol and Sh5.77 per litre on diesel, while returning a deficit of Sh13.14 per litre on kerosene.

Taxes and levies remained the single largest component of the pump price, accounting for Sh73.86 of every litre of petrol sold in Nairobi, Sh64.07 for diesel and Sh50.41 for kerosene.

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