Namibians would from Tuesday fork out more money on fuel as prices will go up for the sixth time this year – with unleaded petrol increasing by 75 cents and diesel by 66 cents a litre.
Reports from Namibia say the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) warned on Friday that the hikes are due to the global rise of oil prices.
“in a politically volatile world and with little surplus capacity left, Namibian consumers are forewarned that they will have to anticipate difficult times ahead and dig deeper in their pockets as the international crude oil prices continue to soar, culminating in oil price shocks worldwide,” reads the ministry statement.
“Under-recovery experienced in the local market, also due to a negative rand/US dollar exchange rate, continued in June and impacted heavily, putting the National Energy Fund (NEF) under immense pressure to compensate the under-recoveries, while subsidising fuel transports to remote areas,”
Pump prices at Walvis Bay will increase to N$9,97 for a litre of 95-octane unleaded petrol, N$9,73 for 93-octane lead-replacement petrol, and N$11,30 for diesel one minute after midnight.
In Windhoek, unleaded petrol will cost N$9,95 and 93-octane lead replacement petrol (LRP) N$9,93, while diesel will jump to N$11,50.
At the Noordoewer border post in the south, prices rise to N$10,18 for 95-octane, N$10,16 for 93-octane and N$11,73 for diesel.
The fuel increase comes a month after the previous hike, which came into effect on June 9.
Crude oil prices soared to US$146 a barrel over the weekend and experts predict increases up to US$170 a barrel before year’s end. Oil has gained about 50 percent this year, driven partly by the tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme, plus expectations that global oil supplies will not cope in the long term with strong demand growth from newly industrialising China and India.
U.S. crude oil hit an all-time high of $145.85 hit on Thursday. The price spike has caused fuel protests worldwide and has begun to dampen demand in consuming nations, including the United States, the world’s biggest energy consumer.
