Amid the ailing economy, rising inflation and persistent power outages, the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) might have given the consumer something to smile about yesterday as it maintained pump prices of petrol, diesel and parrafin.
This means that motorists will still pay K788.30 per litre for petrol, K766.90 per litre for diesel and K609.80 per litre for paraffin.
In a statement issued yesterday, signed by Mera board chairperson Joseph Bvumbwe said the average free on board (FOB) prices for the three products slightly declined when compared to averages obtained in May as a result of oversupply on the international oil market.
Mera said the combined movement of the FOB prices and exchange rate of the Malawi kwacha to the US dollar resulted in increase of the landed cost of petrol, diesel and paraffin.
But according to Automatic Pricing Mechanism (APM), diesel and paraffin qualified for an upward price adjustment since the landed cost increase beyond the plus or minus 5 percent of the trigger limit.
“However, Mera Board resolved to cushion the increase in the landed cost of diesel and paraffin through the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF),” reads the statement in part.
Mera adopted the Automatic Pricing Mechanism (APM) in 2012, a means where by fuel pump prices are adjusted to reflect fuel price movements on the international market and pump price adjustments reflect the changes in value of In Bold Landed Cost (IBLC) of petroleum products and movements of the kwacha against the dollar. n
