THE Energy Regulation Board (ERB) has reduced the pump price of fuel after conducting its first monthly price review.
In a statement, Monday, ERB stated that the price of petroleum products had been reduced by K1.32 while Diesel had been reduced by K1.22.
“The Energy Regulation Board (ERB) has reduced the pump price of petroleum products by K1.32/litre for Petrol and K1.22/litre for Diesel, which will now be sold as Low Sulphur Gasoil/Diesel, while the price of Kerosene remains unchanged. This price review has been necessitated by the decision to migrate to a monthly pricing
cycle which now entails that the local price of fuel is more responsive to the market fundamentals namely: international oil prices and the Kwacha/US Dollar exchange rate prevailing in the month preceding the pricing decision. In this regard, the reference prices for the January 2022 price adjustments have been based on the international oil prices (Platts reference) and exchange rate trend experienced in December 2021,” ERB stated.
“According to the market fundamentals for the month of December 2021, international oil prices for petrol and diesel recorded a notable decline, with the Kwacha also appreciating against the United States Dollar. Petrol prices declined by 11.56% fromUS$96.39/barrel recorded in October 2021 to US$85.25/barrel in December 2021 while Diesel prices also declined by 10.64%, from US$93.27/barrel to US$83.35/barrel.”
And ERB announced that ordinary diesel would no longer be sold on the Zambian market following government’s decision to put Indeni on care and maintenance.
“Further, following Government’s policy decision to place INDENI Refinery on care and maintenance, there will now only be one type of Diesel sold on the market, and that is the imported Low Sulphur Gasoil/Diesel. The ordinary Diesel that was previously produced by INDENI will no longer be available on the Zambian market, resulting in the priding structure now only providing one price for Diesel. With this change, the country is now compliant with international standards where only 50ppm sulphur content or less in Diesel (Low Sulphur Gasoil/Diesel) is available on the market, and that is consistent with what is prevailing in the SADC region and beyond,” read the statement.
Based on the January 2022 price review, fuel prices will now be as follows: Petrol K19.84 from K21.16, Low Sulphur Diesel K18.93 from K 20.15, Kerosene K15.39 (unchanged).
“These prices take effect midnight of Monday, 31* January 2022. Subsequent price reviews for petroleum products will be carried out monthly based on the outcome of the trend in the exchange rate and international oil prices, in the month preceding the review. The monthly price reviews are essential to ensure that there is full cost recovery in the supply chain which in turn ensures adequate revenue for the procurement of future fuel requirements for the country,” read the statement.
