Central bank figures indicate 12pc climb in kerosene prices
Customers buy kerosene at Mbagala Charambe in Dar es Salaam. The commodity’s price rose on an annual basis. PHOTO|FILE
What you need to know:
Tanzanians paid more to obtain kerosene, which is the main source of energy and lighting in January this year, compared with January last year, following the increase of the commodity’s world market price.
Dar es Salaam. Kerosene prices increased by 12 per cent during the year to January 31, 2019, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Bank of Tanzania (BoT) computations.
The prices rose to Sh2,341.8 per litre on January 31, 2019 from Sh2,077.9 per litre in January 2018.
The increase was a result of the movement of the commodity’s world market due to reduced production among major producers.
At a meeting in December, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and some other major oil producers, including Russia, pledged to cut production by 1.2 million barrels per day, effective January 2019.
The BoT monthly economic review shows that on a monthly basis, kerosene prices fell to Sh2,341.8 per litre in January 2019 from Sh2,396.6 per litre in December 2018.
That was the highest increase compared with price rises for diesel and petrol. On an annual basis, the diesel domestic pump price increased to Sh2,333.8 per litre in January 2019 from Sh2,113.1 per litre in January 2018.
On a monthly basis, the price fell by seven per cent from Sh2,309.2 per litre in December 2018.
The computations show that on an annual basis, the price of petrol increased to Sh2,389.2 per litre in January this year from Sh2,260.8 per litre in January last year.
On a monthly basis, the price was Sh2,528 per litre in December last year. According to the short-term energy outlook by the US Energy Information Administration Worldwide, crude oil prices will average $61 a barrel in 2019 and $62 per barrel in 2020.
It forecasts that by 2025, the average price l of Brent crude oil will rise to $81.73 per barrel.
The petroleum industry generally classifies crude oil by the geographic location it is produced in (e.g. West Texas Intermediate, Brent, or Oman), its API gravity (an oil industry measure of density), and its sulfur content.
Crude oil may be considered light if it has low density, or heavy if it has high density; and it may be referred to as sweet if it contains relatively little sulfur or sour if it contains substantial amounts of sulphur.
