Zimbabwe fuel price unchanged for third week in a row

Zimbabwe’s energy regulator today said fuel prices will remain unchanged for next week, much to the relief of motorists used to weekly price increases.

This is the third week in a row that the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) has kept fuel prices unchanged.

From August, ZERA was increasing fuel prices weekly in tandem with the floating exchange rate, much to the chagrin of motorists.

The interbank rate has almost been static at 15:1 since the beginning of this month.

Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said the aim was to increase the price of fuel until it reaches US$1.

The price is now about US$1 using the interbank rate but is US$1.10 for petrol and US$1.16 for diesel using the black market rate for bond notes against the US dollar.

But in spite of the price increase, the commodity has remained scarce, with long winding queues a common feature at all fuel stations.

In a statement today, ZERA said fuel prices for the week starting 21 October remain unchanged at $14.97 per litre of petrol and $15.64 for diesel.

“Please be advised that the fuel prices effective Monday 21 October 2019 are as follows: $15.64 per litre for diesel and $14.97 for petrol.

“Accordingly, prices have therefore not changed for both diesel and blend. Operators may however sell at prices below the cap depending on their trading advantages,” said ZERA.

While the regulator encourages fuel companies to sell at below the set prices depending on their trading advantages, the operators hardly do that. Instead, many actually charge above the set thresholds.-New Ziana/Own

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