Efforts by different countries to reduce fuel and oil prices suffered a major setback after Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to extend their voluntary oil production cuts to December.
The two nations agreed to continue trimming 1.3 million barrels of crude out of the global market.
In an announcement delivered on Tuesday, September 5, Moscow and Riyadh pushed the benchmark Brent crude above USD 90 a barrel.
“This additional voluntary cut comes to reinforce the precautionary efforts made by OPEC+ countries with the aim of supporting the stability and balance of oil markets,” the Saudi Press Agency report stated, citing an unnamed Energy Ministry official.
State-run Russian news agency Tass quoted Alexander Novak, Russia’s deputy prime minister and former energy minister, as saying Moscow would continue its 300,000 barrel-a-day cut.
The decision “is aimed at strengthening the precautionary measures taken by OPEC+ countries in order to maintain stability and balance of oil markets,” Novak indicated.
According to global money markets, the dual announcement by Saudi Arabia and Russia could increase inflation and the costs of fuel.
In the August review, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority announced that super petrol would retail at Ksh194.68 in Nairobi, diesel at Ksh179.67 and kerosene would go for Ksh169.48.
However following Saudi and Russia’s decision, it is not clear how fuel would retail in September.
In Tanzania, President Samia Suluhu Hassan increased fuel prices in that East African country. Tanzania’s Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) announced that a liter of petrol will retail at Tsh3213 (Ksh183) in Dar-es-Salaam, up from Tsh3199 (KSh182).
Diesel will sell at Tsh3259 (Ksh186) from Tsh2935 (Ksh167).
“Changes in prices of petroleum products in August 2023 are mainly due to challenges in the availability of US Dollars and changes in the fuel levy, prices of petroleum products in the world market, and premiums in the importation of petroleum products,” EWURA Director General James Mwainyekule stated.
Uganda on the other side was monitoring the situation before announcing new fuel prices.
