Kenyan motorists and kerosene consumers can sigh with relief after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) announced price cuts on petrol, diesel and kerosene in its monthly fuel price reviews on Saturday. This is the biggest margin the regulator has reduced fuel prices since it started regulating fuel prices a year ago.

Super Petrol in Nairobi has reduced by Ksh9.21 per litre and will now retail at Sh108.46, Diesel has dropped by Ksh8.01 to retail at Ksh97.50. Regular Petrol recorded the largest drop of Ksh11.70 to retail at Ksh105.76. Kerosene which is used by many households in the country will retail at Ksh74.40 in Nairobi, down from Ksh82.41, a drop of Ksh8.08.

The previous fuel price review saw the price of super petrol decrease by Ksh3.46, from Ksh121.13 to Ksh117.67, diesel decreased by Ksh2.93, from Ksh108.44 to Ksh105.51 while that of kerosene decreased by Ksh3.80, to retail at Ksh82.41. These were the overall fuel prices in Nairobi.

The recent drop in fuel prices has been attributed to downward rends of the Free On Board (FOB) price of Murban crude oil lifted in May 2012. The price of Murban crude oil lifted in May 2012 was posted at USD 110.60 per barrel, a decrease of 8.75 per cent from USD 121.20 per barrel in April 2012. A barrel of Murban Crude dropped to $97.35 per barrel in June from May’s $110.60, representing a 11.98 %.