GOVERNMENT has moved to cushion consumers by reducing some of it’s taxes and levies on fuel to avert an astronomical rise in the price of the commodity amid a spike in global prices triggered by the war in the Middle East.

On Wednesday, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) announced new fuel prices effective March 4, with petrol rising to US$1.71 per litre and diesel climbing to US$1.77 per litre.
The new prices represent an increase from the previous rates of US$1.56 for petrol and US$1.52 for diesel due to the military conflict in the Middle East, a vital source of global petroleum.

Without the Government intervention, the actual prices would have been US$1.90/litre for diesel and US$1.81/litre for blend.

In a statement, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory of Authority (ZERA) said Government had reduced some of the charges.

“The above prices are as a result of Government reducing some of its charges to cushion the consumers from astronomical increases that have happened from changes on the international market,” the authority said.
Zimbabwe and South Africa have announced rises in fuel prices following a surge in global oil prices triggered by escalating tensions in the Middle East — a development that is now reverberating across multiple continents.

The latest increases came into effect on Wednesday as the two governments and regulators adjusted prices in response to rising international crude oil costs linked to geopolitical instability in the oil-producing Middle East.

ZERA attributed the increases to rising international oil prices and global market volatility linked to geopolitical developments in the Middle East, a region that supplies a huge portion of the world’s crude oil.