APA-Blantyre (Malawi) Malawi’s energy regulator has approved an increase in fuel prices of up to 45 percent in a move it attributes to rising international oil prices and exchange rate fluctuations.
According to the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA), a litre of petrol would cost MK2,530 (about US$1.49) at the pump starting on Friday, up 44.9 percent from MK1,746 previously.
Motorists who use diesel-powered vehicles would have to pay 42.4 percent more for a litre of the commodity which would now cost K2,734 compared to K1,920 previously.
A litre of paraffin would now cost 51.5 percent more at MK1,910, up from MK1,261 on Thursday.
“Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) considered recent trends in the world petroleum products prices as well as exchange rate movements and their impact on energy prices,” MERA board chairperson Reckford Kampanje said in a statement late Thursday.
The Reserve Bank of Malawi on Thursday devalued the Malawi kwacha by 44 percent from a selling rate of 1,180.29 kwachas the United States dollar to a selling rate of 1,700 kwachas.
The bank said in a statement that the devaluation was meant to curtail “supply-demand imbalances” that have resulted in a shortage of foreign currency, which has affected imports of crucial commodities such as fuel.
JN/APA