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Tawanda Musarurwa
HARARE – The cost of petrol and diesel in Zimbabwe hasb gone up by 12 percent, the second increase this month, information from the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) shows.
Zimbabweans had sighed a breath of relief over the past two week, as Zera maintained the fuel price stable on the back of stable interbank rate during that two-week period.
According to Zera, the price of petrol effective October 28 (yesterday) was pegged at $16,75 per litre from $14,97, while diesel was up by $1,83 to $17,47 per litre.
“Operators may, however, sell at prices below the cap depending on their trading advantages,” Zera said in a statement seen today.
The price increase was mainly influenced by exchange rate movements as the local currency continues to slide against major currencies.
At the last price review, the floating inter-bank rate was US$1 to ZWL$13, but in the past two weeks it had depreciated to US$1 to $15,57.
About four months ago, the regulatory body started increasing fuel prices on a weekly basis, in tandem with the floating exchange rate and international price movements, as they sought to reach ‘equilibrium’.
Both petrol and diesel have largely remained scarce, despite the constant revision of prices, which was hoped would improve product availability.
Bongani Ndlovu