The recently announced pump prices have seen the price of Super Petrol increase by KES 2.63 to retail at KES 121.13, while Diesel has reduced minimally by 36 cents to retail at KES 108.44. The price of Kerosene has increased by 72 cents to retail at KES 87.00.

This change in pump prices has greatly been influenced by fluctuation in international crude oil prices and landing costs of Petrol, Diesel and Kerosene.

International crude oil prices have been showing signs of stabilizing but the tension between Iran and the West has resulted in the closure of the Strait of Soyuz, a channel where 20% of the world’s oil passes. The Free On Board (FOB) price of Murban crude oil has though stagnated at US$ 126.99 per barrel for the period between March 2012 and April 2012.

The average landed cost of imported Super Petrol increased by 2.93% from US$ 1200.41 per tonne in March 2012 to US 1235.58 per tonne in April 2012. The average landed cost of imported Diesel, over the same period decreased by 2.34% from US$ 1085.10 per tonne  to US$ 1059.71 per tonne. The landed cost of imported Kerosene increased by 0.75%, from US$1108.98 in March 2012 to US$ 1117.29 per tonne.

Increase in the average landed costs of imported Petrol and Kerosene have seen an increase in the pump price of Super Petrol and Kerosene. Decrease in the landed costs of Kerosene has seen a reduction in the pump price of Diesel.

The Shilling weakened against the Dollar from an exchange rate of 82.82 in March 2012 to 83.34 in April 2012, another contributing factor to the increase in pump prices