The Ministry of Mines and Energy has directed that the price of petrol and diesel remain unchanged for December.
In a statement issued on Friday, the ministry says at Walvis Bay, the price of petrol will remain at N$20,25 per litre, diesel 50ppm will remain at N$19,72 per litre, while diesel 10ppm will remain unchanged at N$19,82 per litre.
The ministry says international market dynamics have led to differing pricing trends for petrol and diesel.
“The price of petrol decreased due to reduced demand of petrol, particularly in China, where the consumption has been declining for months.
“Meanwhile, diesel prices experienced a slight increase, driven by lighter supply, especially in the major oil-producing countries, due to ongoing sanctions on Russian refined products, which have led to a relative scarcity of diesel,” the statement reads.
The ministry says despite a slight over-recovery recorded on petrol, the depreciation of the Namibia dollar against the United States dollar has also led to increased oil prices, particularly for diesel 50ppm and 10ppm which recorded under-recoveries.
“As oil is traded in US dollar on the international market, the Namibia dollar traded at an average of about N$18 per US dollar, reflecting a 1.8% depreciation against the US dollar since the end of October 2024,” the statement says.
The recent calculations by the ministry show that in November, the average price of petrol 95 is US$83.97 per barrel, a 2.8% decrease, compared to October 2024 prices.
The price of diesel 50ppm is US$89 per barrel, a 2.4% increase, and diesel 10ppm is US$89.13 per barrel, also a 2.3% increase compared to October 2024.
“After observing the results of the input factors and other parameters, the output of the fuel pricing model recorded an over-recovery of 26.75 cents per litre for petrol, and under-recoveries of 43.8 cents per litre for 50ppm diesel and 35.15 cents per litre for 10ppm diesel.
The ministry says taking into consideration these developments and the need to shield the consumer from the volatilities, it decided that petrol prices and those of diesel 50ppm and diesel 10ppm will remain unchanged.
