By Tarisai Kanda

Zimbabwe’s fuel remains the cheapest in the region and in the world, following the release of new prices by the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA), yesterday.

ZERA released maximum retail prices for petrol and diesel applicable for the week beginning 1 April 2019 and ending 8 April 2019. The applicable prices as of 1 April 2019 are $3.40 RTGS and $3.20 RTGS for petrol and diesel per litre, respectively, with petrol expected to marginally increase to $3.41 RTGS on 8 April 2019. Diesel is expected to maintain the same price.

The foregoing prices are in RTGS dollars. Using the interbank rate which has of late been averaging $3 RTGS to the United States Dollar (USD), Zimbabwe’s petrol is $USD1.13, while diesel is $USD1.07. This compares favourably with the price of fuel in the region.

Economic analyst, John Mavhangira said that the foregoing official rates were artificial as they masked what he called the true price using the black market rate. He indicated that, “If one were to factor in the black market rate which is averaging $4 RTGS to the dollar, the price of fuel significantly reduces in USD terms.”

According to Global Petrol Prices, the average price of petrol as at 25 March 2019 is $USD1.12 per litre, while that of diesel is $USD1.05 per litre. In both instances, Zimbabwe is below the world average, while the country’s fuel remains cheaper than neighbours - Zambia and Malawi, where petrol is retailing at $USD1.62 and $1.19, respectively.