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Fuel prices drop as EPRA announces new monthly rates
A worker adjusts fuel prices on a price board at a Petrol Station in Eldoret City, Uasin Gishu County, on April 15, 2026, after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority announced a price increase.
Diesel prices have dropped by Sh10 a litre effective Sunday midnight, helped by a record high subsidy as the State moves to contain public outrage and keep a lid on the escalating cost of living.
A litre of diesel will retail at Sh222.85 in Nairobi, while that of petrol will fall by Sh0.22 to Sh214.03 a litre. Prices of kerosene will remain unchanged at Sh146.93.
A record high subsidy of Sh34.07 per litre of diesel has been applied, helping to avert a surge in prices of the fuel amid simmering public outrage over the high cost of living, mainly blamed on expensive fuel.
President William Ruto had last month promised that the prices of diesel would drop by Sh10. But a change in the pricing formula of imported fuel cargoes had sparked off fears that consumers would be denied a price cut.
The drop in diesel prices is a major reprieve for the government in its efforts to contain a spiralling inflation rate that is currently edging towards the State’s preferred cap of 7.5 percent.
Inflation— measure of cost of living— jumped to 6.7 percent last month, underscoring the impact of the record-high prices of diesel.
“In the period under review, the maximum allowed petroleum pump prices for super petrol and diesel decrease by Sh0.22 and Sh10 respectively while the price of kerosene remain unchanged,” Joseph Oketch, the acting Director General of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) said on Sunday morning.
The landed costs of diesel (price of product and freight charges) rose 0.21 percent to $1,294.71 (Sh168,079.25) per cubic metre last month from $1,291.98 (Sh167,388.92) in April while that of petrol marginally fell 0.56 percent to $901.16 (Sh116,988.59) per cubic metre from $906.23 (Sh117,411.15) in April.
The drop in diesel prices shifts focus to public service providers to reduce fares, given that they increased them last month after prices hit a record high in the monthly review ending today.
Public transporters last month staged a two-day strike, protesting the steep diesel prices, forcing the government to further review the prices and lower them by Sh10.
Dr Ruto then promised a further Sh10 cut in the prices set today, as his administration races to contain the growing public outrage over the escalating cost of living.
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