Fuel pump prices drop further
Fuel prices at Shell and Total as of October 10, 2022. PHOTOS | FRANK BAGUMA
Motorists may soon get more relief from the high fuel pump prices should the global crude oil prices continue to drop, the Energy ministry has said.
Mr Solomon Muyita, the spokesperson of the Energy ministry, told this publication yesterday that the current slight reduction in fuel pump prices in the country has been possible due to the drop in the cost of crude oil from about $100 (about Shs383,000) per barrel to between $90 (Shs344,000) and $80 (Shs306,000).
“The ministry has in the last two months been engaging oil marketing companies to bring the prices a bit down because the cost of crude oil has dropped. Crude oil is the major determinant of the fuel pump prices,” Mr Muyita said.
He added: “Some oil companies were saying that they had stocked a lot of fuel ahead of Kenya’s general elections and they first wanted to exhaust the stock that they purchased expensively but we asked them to bring the prices a bit down.”
A mini-survey by this publication around the city yesterday established that over the past week, fuel prices have dropped by between Shs300 and Shs400.
For example, at major stations run by Shell, a litre of diesel was between Shs5,680 and Shs5,990, while the pump price for petrol at the same stations was at around Shs6080 per litre.
For TotalEnergies fuel stations, diesel was going for between Shs5,970 and Shs5,780 per litre. The price of petrol at the same fuel stations also ranged between Shs6,070 and Shs6,430 per litre.
At Stabex Kibuli station, the cost of a litre of diesel went for Shs5,690 and Shs5,890 for petrol.
A week ago, the pump price per litre of petrol ranged between Shs6,500 and Shs6,800 while that of of diesel ranged between Shs6,000 and Shs6,500.
On the issue of petrol stations charging different prices for the same products, Mr Muyita said the law gives power to oil companies to determine the pump prices so long as they don’t go beyond the ceiling price set by the ministry.
The vice chairperson of the Federation of Uganda Taxi Operators, Mr Mustafa Mayambala, said the reduction is minimal and its impact on their businesses is yet to be felt.
