Due to Africa’s reliance on refined gasoline, companies and households are nonetheless vulnerable to inflationary shocks when local currencies decline and global oil prices change.
Diesel’s importance in Africa, which cannot be overemphasized, drives everything from delivery vehicles and buses to farm equipment and industry machinery.
Growing prices have direct repercussions, including increased transportation costs, more expensive commodities, and higher running costs for businesses that depend on generators in the face of unstable electricity supplies.
Egypt’s recent fuel price change demonstrates this growing concern.
According to AP News, in mid-October, the government raised the price of diesel, an essential fuel for public transportation and logistics, from 15.50 pounds ($0.33) to 17.50 pounds ($0.37) per litre.
Additionally, petrol prices also rose: 92-octane gasoline cost 19.25 pounds ($0.40), while 95-octane cost 21 pounds ($0.44).
The move, fueled by rising global oil prices and the depreciation of the Egyptian pound, has exacerbated inflationary pressures in a country already grappling with rising living costs.
Diesel’s impact is especially severe because of its significance. High diesel prices in cities result in greater freight and public transportation expenses.
Farmers and small businesses in rural areas that rely on diesel-powered machinery risk declining profit margins.
The message is evident throughout the continent: as diesel costs rise, so do the demands on daily living and economic expansion.
Africa’s economies are vulnerable to the effects of change in the price of oil globally, with diesel at the center of the dilemma, unless significant investments are made in refining capacity, renewable energy sources, and improved transportation infrastructure.
With that said, here are the African countries with the highest diesel cost in November, according to data from Global Petrolprices.
Compared to the list last month, when the global average price of diesel was 1.22 U.S. dollars per liter, the same average this month, diesel prices for the Central African Republic, Malawi, Cameroon, Guinea, Uganda, Burundi, and Senegal dipped.
While Diesel prices for Zimbabwe, Seychelles increased slightly.
Diesel prices for Sierra Leone remained the same.
