Windhoek
Despite international oil prices of below US$50 per barrel, a relatively weak Namibian Dollar versus the US Dollar has resulted in the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) leaving petrol and diesel pump prices for October 2015 unchanged.
According to a statement released by the MME, oil prices are not moving upwards, despite the fact that global production has fallen sharply from its previous record highs as the price decline starts to bite.
“International benchmark Brent crude fell back below US$48 and US$50 seems to be a tough ceiling to reach and most indicators are predicting prices will be rooted near this level well into next year. At this level much production around the world is unprofitable and this poses a significant challenge to the oil producing majors,” said permanent secretary in the MME Simeon Negumbo.
He added that overall, there is little to change the picture that prices are likely to remain low well into next year as the market struggles to use up the stockpiled reserves. Meanwhile, the Namibian dollar remains weak against the US Dollar at an average of N$13.5358 for one USD for the period under review and this is keeping local pump prices relatively high.
Current pump prices at Walvis Bay will remain at N$10.69 per litre for 95 Octane Unleaded Petrol, N$10.42 per litre for Diesel 500ppm and N$10.52 per litre for Diesel 50ppm.