Kenyan motorists and businesses are burning through more fuel than ever, even as pump prices climb to some of their highest levels in years, a sign of just how tightly the economy is bound to petroleum.
Figures from the Petroleum Institute of East Africa (PIEA) show total fuel consumption hit 1.65 million cubic metres between January and March this year, up 5.4 percent from the 1.57 million cubic metres recorded over the same stretch in 2025.
In everyday terms, that’s roughly 1.7 billion litres burned in three months, against 1.6 billion litres a year earlier.
The uptick came against a backdrop of eye-watering price hikes. Diesel in Nairobi shot up by Sh46.29 in May alone, landing at Sh242.92 a litre, while Super Petrol climbed Sh16.65 to Sh214.25. Industry players pointed to turmoil in global oil markets and rising freight costs as the culprits.
Diesel did most of the heavy lifting behind the demand growth, hardly surprising, given how much of Kenya’s economy rides on it. From ferrying goods across the country to powering farm machinery, construction equipment and factory floors, diesel touches nearly every corner of commercial life.
That resilience says as much about necessity as it does about the economy’s health. Households and firms don’t have many places to turn when fuel gets expensive; there’s no easy substitute for a matatu, a delivery truck or a tractor.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has made this point before: demand for petroleum softens when prices rise, but only to a point, because alternatives remain scarce.
Government intervention has also played a role in keeping the situation from spiralling further. During the May-June pricing cycle, authorities poured billions of shillings into the Petroleum Development Levy and related tax measures to soften the blow on consumers.
By July, that cushioning appeared to be working; EPRA held prices steady at Sh214.03 for Super Petrol, Sh222.86 for diesel and Sh191.38 for kerosene in Nairobi, even as it worked to replenish the fuel stabilisation fund.
Taken together, the numbers tell a story of an economy still humming along, particularly in transport and logistics, but one that remains exposed.
Should pump prices climb further and stay high, the ripple effects- steeper transport costs, pricier goods, tighter household budgets- could be hard to avoid. Still, for now, the message from the data is clear: no matter how much it costs to fill the tank, Kenyans are finding a way to keep driving.
Read Also: Fuel Costs Continue To Squeeze Kenyans As Cost of Living Keeps Rising