Fuel prices to fall between 3% and 10% from March 16 – IES

Fuel prices are expected to fall between 3% and 10% at the pumps, beginning tomorrow March 16, 2023, the Institute for Energy Security (IES) has projected.

This follows a decline in the activities of price indicators in the last two weeks.

The prices of all three key petroleum products – petrol, diesel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) – are expected to fall.

The IES said “the last two weeks has seen price indicators on both the domestic and international fronts falling and this can translate into some price reductions at the pumps for various petroleum products”.

The domestic fuel market prices are projected to fall between ¢12.60 for petrol, ¢13.40 for diesel and ¢14 per Kilogramme for LPG.

World oil market

The international crude oil benchmark Brent fell to about $83.87 from about $84.14 per barrel over the last two weeks. This represented a marginal drop in the average prices in the window under review.

The commodity which traded at about $86 per barrel in the mid of the window declined to as low as $79 per barrel at the start of Tuesday March 14, 2023.

Fuel market performance

The first pricing-window for March 2023 offered some respite to petroleum product consumers on the domestic market.

Prices of petrol and diesel drop significantly, allowing domestic consumers to enjoy some relief.

The IES monitoring of various Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for the pricing-window under review found the national average price for petrol and diesel as ¢13.53 and ¢13.69.

The national average price of LPG, however, sold for ¢15.44 per kilogramme.