The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) decided to give Kenyans an early Christmas gift by lowering the cost of fuel ahead of the festive season. Kenyans have this year suffered because of the high cost of fuel especially after the government introduced a 8% Value Added Tax (VAT) on the commodity.
Take a look at the reviewed fuel prices across the country:
Motorists in Nairobi will now pay Sh. 113.54 for a litre of super petrol and Sh. 112.28 for diesel, offering a sigh of relief to private motorists during the festive season. The cost of kerosene, mainly used by low-income households for cooking and lighting, has also gone down by Sh. 6.61 to Sh. 105.22 per litre.
In Nakuru, a litre of super petrol will now be sold at Sh. 114.02, diesel and kerosene at Sh. 112.96 and Sh. 105.92 respectively.
In Mombasa, Super Petrol will retail at Sh. 110.91, diesel will sell at Sh. 109.66 while Kerosene will be sold at Sh102.60.
In Eldoret town, Super petrol will retail at Ksh. 115.02, Diesel at Ksh. 113.96- Diesel and Ksh. 106.91 for Kerosene.
The regulator has attributed the reduction in fuel prices to a decline in the weighted average cost of imported refined petroleum products. The prices are inclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT) at 8 per cent in line with the provisions of the Finance Act 2018.
Besides, the average landed cost of diesel decreased by 2.58 per cent from US$ 741.33 per ton to US$ 722.17 per ton and Kerosene decreasing by 11.12 per cent from US$ 763.47 per ton to US$ 678.57 per ton.
The reduction is despite the value of the dollar to the shilling depreciating by 1.27 per cent from Sh101.16 per dollar in October 2018 to Sh102.44 per dollar in November 2018.
In the review for November 15-December 14, pump prices shot up by more than Sh2.50 per litre. Super petrol recorded the least jump of Sh2.38 to retail at Sh118.11 per litre in Nairobi while diesel went up by Sh3.11 to trade at Sh112.83.
In October, petrol prices went down by Sh1.06 while diesel and kerosene went up by Sh1.60 and Sh0.43 respectively. A litre of Kerosene increased by Sh2.99 to sell at Sh111.83 in Nairobi.
At least Sh45.75 of the total cost of a litre of Super Petrol will go to taxes and levies. In the case of a litres of diesel and Kerosene, atleast Sh37.02, and Sh36.32 will be channelled to the taxes.
In case you’re driving down to Mombasa for the holidays, you might want to ‘jaza tank’ while in the county and save a few extra shillings.