BLANTYRE, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Malawi has hiked the pump price of fuel citing increases of oil on the international market and depreciation of the country's local currency, the country's energy regulatory authority said Saturday.
The Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) said in a statement the pump prices for petrol had increased by 20 percent, 16 percent for diesel and 10 percent for paraffin.
'The increases in the prices are due to several international and domestics factors,' said Mera.
It added higher prices for oil products on the international market, increased demand for oil and depreciation of the Malawi Kwacha against the U.S dollar had necessitated the decision.
Mera said the Malawi Kwacha had since the last adjustment in fuel prices in February 2009 depreciated by 7.5 percent from trading at MWK141.99 to MWK152.29 per US dollar.
Following the adjustments, effective immediately, petrol will now sell at $1.8 up from $1.5 per litre, diesel at $1.6 up from $1.4 per litre and paraffin at $1.03 up from $0.93.
Analysts expect the increase to trigger an upward spiral in inflation which has been under pressure to rise since November owing to diminishing food stocks and shortages of fuel and foreign currency.
Malawi is in the middle of a farming season when stocks of the staple grain, maize, are traditionally low and prices start to climb. Food accounts for the greatest weight in Malawi's consumer price index (CPI) basket at 58.1 percent.
The country's year-on-year inflation stood at 7.6 percent in December, up from 7.2 percent in November and now faces pressure to rise higher despite Finance Minister's latest forecast that it would average 7 percent in 2010.
(Reporting by Frank Phiri; Editing by Andy Bruce) (For more Africa cover visit: http://af.reuters.com -- To comment on this story email: SouthAfrica.Newsroom@reuters.com) Keywords: MALAWI FUELPRICE/ (gugu.lourie@thomsonreuters.com; +27 11 775 3162; Reuters Messaging: gugu.lourie.reuters.com@reuters.net.) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) said in a statement the pump prices for petrol had increased by 20 percent, 16 percent for diesel and 10 percent for paraffin.
'The increases in the prices are due to several international and domestics factors,' said Mera.
It added higher prices for oil products on the international market, increased demand for oil and depreciation of the Malawi Kwacha against the U.S dollar had necessitated the decision.
Mera said the Malawi Kwacha had since the last adjustment in fuel prices in February 2009 depreciated by 7.5 percent from trading at MWK141.99 to MWK152.29 per US dollar.
Following the adjustments, effective immediately, petrol will now sell at $1.8 up from $1.5 per litre, diesel at $1.6 up from $1.4 per litre and paraffin at $1.03 up from $0.93.
Analysts expect the increase to trigger an upward spiral in inflation which has been under pressure to rise since November owing to diminishing food stocks and shortages of fuel and foreign currency.
Malawi is in the middle of a farming season when stocks of the staple grain, maize, are traditionally low and prices start to climb. Food accounts for the greatest weight in Malawi's consumer price index (CPI) basket at 58.1 percent.
The country's year-on-year inflation stood at 7.6 percent in December, up from 7.2 percent in November and now faces pressure to rise higher despite Finance Minister's latest forecast that it would average 7 percent in 2010.
(Reporting by Frank Phiri; Editing by Andy Bruce) (For more Africa cover visit: http://af.reuters.com -- To comment on this story email: SouthAfrica.Newsroom@reuters.com) Keywords: MALAWI FUELPRICE/ (gugu.lourie@thomsonreuters.com; +27 11 775 3162; Reuters Messaging: gugu.lourie.reuters.com@reuters.net.) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.