By Petronella Sibeene
WINDHOEK
Barely a month after the Ministry of Mines and Energy announced a fuel price hike of 32 cents a litre for diesel and 22 cents for petrol, bad news for consumers is that yet another stiff fuel price increase is around the corner.
An inside source in the Ministry of Mines and Energy yesterday revealed that diesel is likely to go up by 50 cents a litre while petrol price will increase by 30 cents a litre.
The increase in fuel price is attributed to the weakened average rand/US dollar exchange rate, which affects the unit over/under recovery negatively.
“We are just waiting for the minister to approve and then we will announce (the increases). Probably by next week,” the source said.
Currently, the retail price for 93 Octane lead replacement petrol stands at N$7.23 per litre at Walvis Bay while 95 Octane unleaded petrol sells for N$7.25 and diesel has increased to N$7.54 per unit at the coastal town.
In other parts of the country, the price of diesel is now N$7.73 from N$7.41 while lead replacement petrol and unleaded petrol costs N$7.41 and N$7.43 respectively. The minister attributed the increase in fuel price to changes in the crude oil market and high crude oil prices that are now hovering above US$107 a barrel.