For the second time in a week, Zimbabwe increased fuel prices on Monday, but most pumps stayed dry, with no end in sight to shortages that drive inflation quickly higher.
The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority said in Harare a liter of gasoline would now cost Zimbabwe $7.45, up 22% from $6.10. Diesel now costs 7.19 a litre, a 23 per cent rise.
On July 13, after finance minister Mthuli Ncube said fuel was significantly cheaper than in neighboring nations, fuel prices were increased by up to 16 percent.
Mr Ncube said he wanted the price to rise to the equivalent of $1 a liter.
With inflation rising, economic analysts say fuel price rises add to price pressures, particularly as rolling power cuts force companies to use costly diesel generators to power their operations.
In line with a slide in the value of the local RTGS currency, which was renamed the Zimbabwe dollar last month, diesel and petrol prices have risen by 456 percent this year.
The highest fuel price hike in January, an increase of 150 percent, caused Zimbabweans ‘ violent demonstrations. When the military clamped down on the demonstratrs, more than a dozen people were killed.
On Monday, the Zimbabwe dollar traded on the formal interbank market at 8.88 against the greenback, little change from last week. On the black market, $1 has raised 10.5 USD from Zimbabwe. (Reuters/NAN)