Fuel prices to remain fixed: Petroleum Fund

’MATHAPELO TAKISI

MASERU – Prices of the petroleum products will remain fixed for this month, the office of the Petroleum Fund announced on Wednesday this week.

This decision follows the government’s statement declaring that the prices of the petroleum products should remain fixed for six months unless the fuel cost would escalate beyond M1.60. As of this month, the prices have not transcended the set scale hence they remain fixed.

This period of six months is effective from July until December 2022.

The government announced that it will set aside M30 million monthly basis as a Stabilisation Fund which will be used as a cushion to oil companies against increasing prices as well as to ensure that the increases are not passed on to the end consumers. This is apparently based on the fact that the fixing of prices for this period will greatly impact businesses, their cash flows in particular.

The government decided to reduce fuel prices by M1.50 for both grades of petrol and diesel and by M1.10 on illuminating paraffin in July therefore the current fixed fuel prices have been effective since then.

Fuel prices shall remain as follows countrywide:

Petrol 93 M22.20 per liter

Petrol95 M22.65 per liter

Diesele50 M23.20 per liter

Home paraffin M17.80 per liter

The office thus advices the fuel retailers to sell fuel to the consumers at the authorized prices as it is a crime to sell fuel at any price exceeding the ones mentioned above. If the public is aware of any places selling fuel at the unofficial prices which above these ones; they are free to conduct the office at this number 80022004.

While Lesotho has decided to stabilize the fuel prices for the period of 6 months, South Africa through the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has announced the official fuel price decrease for the month of September.

The new fuel prices for the neighboring country came into effect on Wednesday 7, September. According to Central Energy Funds, petrol will drop by M2.04 per liter for both 93 and 95 while illuminating paraffin will drop by 82 cents per liter.

In a media release, Minister Gwede Mantashe showed that South Africa’s fuel prices are conformed on monthly basis informed by international factors. Among those international factors is the fact that South Africa imports both crude oil and finished products at a price set at an international level including importation costs.