Image courtesy panafricanvisions.com

Possible good news at last for the long-suffering Kenyan consumers as fuel prices are expected to ease in the coming week due to a marked drop in the cost of refined fuel being brought into the country.

As reported in The Business Daily, recently released data suggests that by Friday midnight the cost per barrel will fall from $117.33 to $105.96 per barrel, a drop of 10 percent.

The significance of this fall is that the cost of imported refined fuel is used to calculate prices in the monthly cycle, leading to a significant reduction in the price of imported super petrol, diesel and kerosene which should in turn lead to a fall in the price of fuel at the pumps.

‘Average Landed Costs’ Down

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) uses the average landed costs of imported fuel as one of the key determinants to calculate pump prices, together with the exchange rate of the shilling against the US dollar (Sh120.64 to the dollar). In the last month the shilling has weakened to some extent against the dollar.

At present super petrol is selling at Sh179.30 per litre, a record high. The price of diesel stands at Sh164 per litre and kerosene Sh147.94.

If the expected fall in the cost of fuel to the Kenyan consumer does take place it will be the first time since the government began the withdrawal of the subsidy on diesel and kerosene and the complete removal of the subsidy on super petrol on September 14th.