The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) has raised fuel prices by two cents for petrol and three cents for diesel with effect from the 29th of December 2022.
In a statement seen by Pindula News, the regulator said petrol would now be sold at US$1.50 per litre up from the previous US$1.48.
In the local currency, the petrol price was raised to ZW$1 016.49 from ZW$1 007.45.
ZERA raised the US dollar price for diesel to US$1.65 from US$1.62 per litre while the diesel price in the local currency was hiked to ZW$1119.82, from ZW$1 094.04 per litre. Read the statement in part:
The public and operators are advised that the blending ratio remains at E5. Operators may sell the petroleum products below the prescribed prices depending on their trading advantages and should display prices in a prominent place as provided for by the fuel pricing regulations. Stakeholders are advised that the petroleum price releases by ZERA can be verified on the official ZERA website, Facebook or Twitter handle.
The average price of gasoline around the world is 1.28 U.S. Dollars per litre while the average price of diesel around the world is 1.32 U.S. Dollars per litre.
GlobalPetrolPrices.com says the differences in prices across countries are due to the various taxes and subsidies for diesel. All countries have access to the same petroleum prices of international markets but then decide to impose different taxes. As a result, the retail price of diesel is different.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa early this year said he had directed that duty on fuels be reduced by US 13 cents among other measures to ensure the supply in the market remains stable and affordable.
Fuel prices went up in February with the government attributing the increase to the war between Russia and Ukraine which they said disrupted global trade as the two countries are the main producers of oil.
Analysts, however, observed that while the war had an effect on economies worldwide, fuel in Zimbabwe was more expensive when compared to its regional counterparts and this was due to higher taxes. That is when President Mnangagwa directed that the taxes be reduced.