Staff Reporter
THE petrol prices will increase by N$1,50 per litre in March, while the diesel prices will remain unchanged.
This was announced by the Ministry of Mines and Energy senior public relations officer, Andreas Simon, who said that the petrol price adjustment will become effective from 00:01 on 1 March.
This increase, he explained, means that the petrol price in Walvis Bay will become N$19,78 per litre, while the diesel price will remain N$20,65 per litre. Petrol prices across the rest of the country will be adjusted accordingly.
Simon explained that a number of factors resulted in the ministry recording under-recoveries on both petrol and diesel during February. In this regard, he revealed that the ministry recorded an under-recovery of 187 cents per litre on petrol and an under-recovery of 30 cents per litre on diesel.
One of the factors that contributed to this, he explained, is the fact that the Namibian Dollar (NAD) depreciated against the US Dollar (USD) at N$17,7676 per USD during the period of 1 to 21 February, compared to N$17,0793 per USD at the end of January.
Simon also explained that although many central banks continue to increase interest rates to counter inflation, oil prices could still rise in the coming weeks. This, he said, will likely be due to carefully managed undersupply and a rebound in demand.
“The Russian Federation, for example, which has been hit with an embargo by the European Union against its oil industry has announced a cut in production of about 500 000 barrels per day for the month of March. However, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have both raised their 2023 demand outlooks due to expectations of a Chinese recovery,” he explained.
Simon also noted that crude oil prices have remained somewhat static with Brent crude trading at about USD84,00 per barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is trading at about USD77,00 per barrel.
He revealed that the ministry’s latest calculations indicate that the average price for Unleaded Petrol 95 was USD100,035 during the period of 1 to 21 February, compared to USD99,859 per barrel at the end of January. This is a slight increase of not more than USD1 over the review period.
Simon added that the average price for Diesel 550ppm over the review period of 1 to 21 February was USD108,040 per barrel, compared to USD118,468 per barrel at the end of January. This, he noted, represents a decrease of about USD10 per barrel over the review period.
“The ministry foresees turbulent times ahead judging from the unstable situation which continues to persist in the international oil market. However, the Ministry will continue to work diligently towards ensuring that the security of fuel supply is maintained, and that fuel prices are stabilised,” he said.
File photo for illustrative purposes only.
