Mpeshe Selebalo
MASERU — There seems to be no respite for motorists after the Petroleum Fund hiked yet again the price of fuel by between 10 and 25 lisente on Friday.
The fuel price increase comes barely a week after the Lesotho Electricity Authority approved tariff increases of between six and 7.3 percent.
The latest increases will likely hit hard consumers who are already struggling to cope with the high cost of living.
The last fuel price increase was in April.
A litre of petrol will now cost 10 lisente more at the filling station while diesel will cost a whopping 25 lisente more.
The wholesale price of illuminating paraffin has been increased by a massive 20 lisente per litre.
Most people in low-income households do not have access to electricity and rely on paraffin to cook their food and for heating.
The fund said the increase had been necessitated by the recent hike in the price of crude oil on the international markets.
“The main reason for the increases is the current increases of crude oil prices in the international markets which have resulted in these products experiencing unit slate under-recoveries,” said the Fund in a statement.
A litre of petrol will now cost M7.50, up from M7.40 in Zone 1 which includes Quthing, Mount Moorosi and Qacha’s Nek while diesel will now cost M7.75, up from M7.50.
The price for a litre of paraffin has now been set at M5.35.
For Zone 2, which includes Mphaki, the retail price of petrol has been set at M7.56, while diesel will cost M7.81 per litre.
The wholesale price for a litre of paraffin is now set at M5.40.
In Zone 3 which covers the Thaba-Tseka area, a litre of paraffin will retail at M7.59 per litre while a litre of diesel will cost M7.84.
The wholesale price of domestic paraffin has been set at M5.43 per litre.
In Zone 4, which is in the Mokhotlong district, the pump price of petrol has now been set at M7.68 per litre.
A litre of diesel will cost M7.93 while domestic paraffin will cost M5.51 a litre.
The increase in the price of fuel will have a ripple effect on prices of goods and services.
The cost of transporting goods will likely increase the price of commodities on supermarket shelves.
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