Petrol price drops below Sh200 mark

Sources

A litre of super petrol has dropped below the Sh200 mark in Nairobi for the first time since August as pump prices fall by up to Sh7 per litre effective midnight, the biggest drop month-on-month.

A litre of super petrol will retail at Sh199.15 in Nairobi after a drop of Sh7.21, while that of diesel will sell at Sh190.38 a litre, a cut of Sh5.09. A litre of kerosene will drop by the smallest margin of Sh4.49 to retail at Sh188.74 in the city.

The price cuts contained in the latest pricing schedule that will be in force until April 14 are set to boost efforts of further slowing down the cost of living.

The last time pump prices dropped by a big margin was in May 2020 when a litre of super petrol dropped from Sh92.87 to Sh83.33 while that of diesel dropped from Sh97.56 to Sh78.37.

“The maximum allowed petroleum pump price for super petrol, diesel and kerosene decrease by Sh7.21 per litre, Sh5.09 per litre and Sh4.49 per litre respectively,” Director General, Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) Daniel Kiptoo said in the notice on Thursday.

The latest price drops are set to further lower inflation which was recorded at 6.3 percent last month from 6.9 percent in January.

The ongoing rally of the shilling against the dollar and the global drop in prices of refined fuel has handed Kenyans the biggest price month-on-month cuts in over three years.

Epra used an exchange rate of 148.02 units to the dollar in the latest review compared to the rate of 168.42 units applied in the pricing review that lapses midnight.

The Kenyan economy is diesel-driven and goods manufactures alongside service providers factor in the prevailing prices of fuel in determining the cost of their goods and services.

-Business Daily