Smiles For Motorists As Diesel Prices Go Further Down

Motorists have every reason to smile for the next 30 days after the Energy and Regulatory Commission (ERC) announced a further drop in fuel prices with diesel dropping to a 13-month low.

The price of a liter of diesel in Nairobi will retail at 95.96 shillings, a drop of 6.28 shillings with Kenyans skeptical whether the same will reflect directly unto them.

The ERC has reduced the price of diesel in the past but there have been no plans in place to ensure that the common man on the ground benefits.

The drop of price of diesel often cuts across other the economic chain. The transport sector is usually the first one that is supposed to directly channel the benefits directly to the consumer by cutting down on transport costs. However, some unscrupulous in the transport have always taken the opportunity to charge high amounts in terms of fare with no regulations in place to tame them.

With low diesel prices, the cost of various commodities, especially consumables, is expected to come down. This has, however, not been the case as most traders, despite the reduced cost of production, continue charging exorbitantly without putting the consumer into consideration.

The price of super petrol will retail at 100.9 shillings per liter in Nairobi, a drop of 4.12 shillings from what was announced a month earlier and the lowest price for a liter of super petrol since 2017.

The price of kerosene has gone down by 5.20 shillings to 101.70 shillings per liter. The price of kerosene is now higher than that of diesel by 5.74 shillings.

Landed Cost

The latest drop in the current fuel prices has been attributed to the decreasing landed cost across the three fuels.

The landed cost of super petrol dropped by 7.23 percent while that of diesel went down by 11.29 percent. The landed cost of kerosene dropped by 3.92 percent.

The drop in fuel prices has also been attributed to the appreciation of the mean monthly dollar to shilling by 0.84 percent from 102.16 shillings to the dollar in December to 101.30 shillings to the dollar in January.

Fuel Prices in 10 other major towns

Residents in Mombasa will pay 101.60 shillings for super petrol, 99.63 shillings for diesel and 99.09 shillings for kerosene.

Those in Nakuru will part with 104.73 shillings for super petrol, 102.94 shillings for diesel and 102.41 shillings for a liter of kerosene.

In Kisumu, people will pay 105.73 shillings for a liter of super petrol, 103.94 shillings for the same quantity of diesel and 103.40 shillings for kerosene.

Eldoret residents will part with 105.74 shillings for every liter of super petrol, 103.95 shillings for diesel and 103.41 shillings for kerosene.