Tanzania Hikes Retail Fuel Prices
Tanzania's energy regulator raised maximum retail prices of fuel on Saturday due to higher international crude oil and refined product prices, a move likely to exert upward pressure on inflation.
Fuel prices have a big effect on the east African country's inflation rate, which slowed to 4.5 percent year-on-year in September from 4.9 percent the previous month.
The Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) raised the retail price of petrol by 1.8 percent and the price of diesel by 1.25 percent.
Maximum kerosene prices were raised 0.64 percent in the latest monthly price caps, which take immediate effect.
"To a large extent, these increases in the local market prices have been caused by an increase of prices of petroleum products in the world market," EWURA said.
The regulator increased the price of petrol in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam by 33 shillings a litre to 1,860 shillings ($0.8540), and the price of diesel in the capital by 21 shillings to 1,720 shillings.
Kerosene prices in the commercial capital rose 11 shillings to 1,669 shillings per litre.
($1 = 2,178.0000 Tanzanian shillings)
(Reporting by Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala; Editing by Elias Biryabarema and Alexander Smith)
