Zim Fuel price up 150 percent

Ndakaziva Majaka

FUEL prices in Zimbabwe have surged by about 150 percent, effective June 24 following an earlier review of the country’s exchange rate.

According to a schedule released by the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA), petrol will now retail at ZW$71.62 up from an average of ZWL$28. In USD terms, a litre of petrol will now cost US$1.28. Diesel will now be ZW$62.77 or US$1.09 at the pump.

Buyers can choose to pay in any currency of their choice.

As reported earlier on Monday by ZTN, most fuel stations around the country were not displaying product prices in anticipation of a new official Zimbabwe dollar exchange rate to the US dollar.The ratenow stands at $57.36 following operationalization of the country’s Foreign Exchange Auction System that went live on Tuesday morning.

The exchange rate to the US dollar had been fixed at $1:25 since March this year when the country’s central bank introduced a managed rate.

The fixed exchange rate has been blamed by market watchers for price distortions, mostly in the petroleum sector.