Oil marketers, importers and consumers are staring at a fuel price hike and availability uncertainty ahead of the next review by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) scheduled for Friday, April 14.
According to a weekly review by the Central Bank of Kenya on Friday, April 7, global fuel prices had soared.
CBK explained the latest development revealing that fuel producers had reduced importation.
"International oil prices increased during the week, mainly due to plans by producers to reduce output.
"Murban oil price increased to Ksh11,312 (USD 86.30) per barrel on April 5 from Ksh10,317 (USD 78.71) per barrel on March 30," CBK wrote.
CBK's warning came after oil producers announced plans to cut output by more than one million barrels daily.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) made the announcement following a ministerial meeting which resolved to cut the output.
Saudi Arabia specifically announced that it would cut the output by 500,000 barrels. Defending the decision, the Saudi energy ministry said the kingdom's voluntary reduction was a precautionary measure to support the stability of the oil market.
"OPEC is taking pre-emptive steps in case of any possible demand reduction," he stated.
In the last review, EPRA increased the retail price of Super Petrol by Ksh2.00 per litre for March 15 to April 14 pricing cycle. The prices of Diesel and Kerosene remained unchanged.
Following the review, super petrol retailed at Ksh176.98 in Mombasa and Ksh179.30 in Nairobi, while Diesel was at Ksh159.76 and Ksh 162.00 in Mombasa and Nairobi, respectively.
By this publication, EPRA had not revealed a plan to cushion consumers following the OPEC decision.
