EPRA Increases Fuel Prices Up To Valentines Day

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has announced an increase in the prices of Super Petrol, Diesel, and Kerosene fuel products, effective midnight tonight.

The fuel regulator announced this on Tuesday, January 14, with the new prices going into effect from Wednesday, January 15 to Friday, February 14.

"In accordance with Section 101(y) of the Petroleum Act 2019 and Legal Notice No.192 of 2022, we have calculated the maximum retail prices of petroleum products, which will be in force from 15th January 2025 to 14th February 2025," announced EPRA.

The prices of Super Petrol, Diesel, and Kerosene increased by Ksh0.29, Ksh2.00 and Ksh3.00 respectively. Last month, the prices in Nairobi read as follows: Ksh176.29 for a litre of Super Petrol, Ksh165.06 for a litre of Diesel and Ksh148.39 for a litre of Kerosene.

Fuel watch: New fuel prices as announced by EPRA on January 14, 2025

This time round, Nairobi motorists will pay Ksh176.58 for a litre of Super Petrol, Ksh167.06 for a litre of Diesel and Ksh151.39 for a litre of Kerosene.

"The prices are inclusive of the 16% Value Added Tax (VAT) in line with the provisions of the Finance Act 2025, the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act 2024, and the revised rates for excise duty adjusted for inflation as per Legal Notice No. 194 of 2000," read the statement in part.

According to EPRA, the increase in petroleum prices was informed by several factors key among them, the increase in the landed cost of imported diesel. However, the landed cost of super petrol and kerosene decreased, despite the upward trend in the latest prices.

"The average landed cost of imported Super Petrol decreased by 0.54% from 55612.93 per cubic metre in November 2024 to US$611.69 per cubic metre in December 2024; Diesel Increased by 0.06% from US$643.69 per cubic metre to US$654.10 per cubic metre while Kerosene decreased by 12% from US$660.30 per cubic metre to US$619.64 per cubic metre over the same period."

The announcement is not very good news for Kenyans who had expected that the prices would remain the same as they did last month. This was mainly because of the stability of the Shilling. 

The new prices mean that Kenyans will have to dig slightly deeper into their pockets even as there are fears of inflation, informed by the global inflation trends recorded within the last week.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), in its weekly bulletin released on Friday, January 9, reported that international oil prices remained stable during the week. However, the price of Murban oil recorded a slight increase, trading at USD 77.75( KSh10,066.29) per barrel as of January 9, 2025.

''Concerns about inflation in advanced economies persisted during the week ending January 10, 2025. Inflation in the Euro Area increased to 2.4 per cent in December 2024 from 2.2 per cent in November signalling continued price pressures,'' data from the CBK stated in part.