The price of gasoline and fuel at the pump was raised in Rwanda on Monday, according to the utilities regulator, amid global oil market uncertainty triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
Rwanda has kept fuel prices stable at the pump since May 2021 by removing various levies on petroleum items in an effort to reduce inflation.
According to Deo Muvunyi, president of the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority, the landlocked country raised the price of petrol by 8.2 percent to 1,359 Rwandan francs ($1.32) per litre and diesel by 13.9 percent to 1,368 Rwandan francs ($1.33) per litre for the next two months.
“We had seen these expected increases based on international prices,” said Rwanda central bank governor John Rwangombwa.
The conflict in Ukraine exacerbated supply concerns that were already underlying global prices. Sanctions against Russia, as well as consumers’ avoidance of Russian oil, have already resulted in a decline in output, raising fears of much greater losses.
“The problem with fuel is that it affects other sectors. Fuel had started increasing even before the war , the war added fuel to the fire,” Rwangombwa said.
After being hit hard by the impact of coronavirus restrictions, Rwanda’s economy grew by more than 10% last year, but inflationary pressures are expected to slow growth to just 7.2 percent in 2022, according to Rwanda’s finance minister.