Between November 15 and December 14, Epra reviewed the prices for gasoline, diesel, and kerosene in Nairobi and reduced the cost of gasoline from Sh178.3 to Sh177.3, diesel from Sh163 to Sh162, and kerosene from Sh146.94 to Sh145.94.
According to Epra, the price cut came after an up to 9 percent decrease in the landed cost of imported fuel products.
According to Epra, the average landed cost of imported Super Petrol decreased by 5.6% from US$726.77 per cubic meter in September 2022 to US$686.05 per cubic meter in October 2022. The cost of diesel decreased by 2.3% from US$884.46 per cubic meter to US$863.81 per cubic meter and the cost of kerosene decreased by 9.8% from US$883.22 per cubic meter to US$803.06 per cubic meter.
Epra highlighted that the revised prices include both the 8% value-added tax and the inflation-adjusted excise fee.
The authority added that super fuel and diesel prices were cross-subsidized, and that the Sh17.68/litre subsidy for kerosene was kept “to protect customers from the otherwise excessive prices.”
As a result of lower crude oil import prices last month, Epra slightly reduced the price of fuel, bringing down the cost of gasoline, kerosene, and diesel by Sh1 and Sh2, respectively, per litre.
However, the slight downward revision was despite a more significant decrease in the landed cost of imported fuel products, whose landed cost fell by 10.6% for gasoline, 6.87% for diesel, and 1.824% for kerosene per cubic meter.
In addition, the government continued to partially subsidize diesel and kerosene in the months of October and November after discontinuing its support for gasoline during the previous cycle.
The country’s cost of living is rising, and the new prices are still high compared to last year. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics’ (KNBS) October consumer price index, inflation reached a 64-month high of 9.6% in October.
According to KNBS, food inflation reached 15.8% in October, meaning that overall food prices were higher by 15.8% compared to October 2021. Food prices continued to put the most pressure on households.
