Today ZERA has sent out another price adjustment circular to those in the fuel industry. Again just as we predicted last week the price reduction didn’t last. They had reduced the price of both petrol while citing a reduction in landing fuel costs as the reason.

Diesel will now have a maximum pump price of 10.42 up from 10.25 last week. That is a modest 17 cents ZWL increase. Meanwhile, the price of petrol has been increased by 9 cents to 9.95. Petrol users probably have another decrease in the price of ethanol to thank for this modest price increase.

This week’s fuel prices in Harare and Mutare

DescriptionDiesel ZWL/LitrePetrol ZWL/Litre
FOB0.58060.5300
Exchange Rate8.50008.5000
Duty (ZIMRA Exchange Rate 11.1722)2.94733.0614
Oil Company Margin0.55120.5266
Dealer Margin0.68160.6512
Maximum Pump Price10.429.95

Note that these prices are in effect starting Monday 9 September (tomorrow). Expect service stations to cheerfully hike the price of Diesel as soon as the clock strikes 00.00 hours :)

Last week the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) did something they hadn’t done in a very long time-they reduced the price of fuel. It wasn’t by much but still, it must have been a relief to motorists that were lined up for their turn to be filled up.

About three weeks ago ZERA introduced zonal pricing where the people in towns other than Harare and Mutare paid more depending on their distance from the fuel depots in these two cities.

In the latest communication, it is safe to assume that service stations still have the mandate to do this although we are not aware of the exact specific prices. If you live in town s like Bulawayo expect to pay more per litre than shown above.

The selective acceptance of payment methods continues

A lot of service stations continue to have restrictions regarding the type of payments they receive. Now they are just being smart about it unlike the brazen nature some service stations had adopted which saw some of them being closed.

Now don’t be surprised to learn that Ecocash is down and always down or the swipe machine has no power. Companies are just being smart about it now. In any case it’s motorists who will suffer if the nearest service station is shut down for non-compliance so it becomes a lose-lose situation.