Kenya spent Ksh.126.1 billion to purchase fuel and lubricants in the first three months of 2021 with the elevated costs being a result of renewed volatility in the pricing of commodities.
The fuel bill in the first quarter of the year was 64.2% higher than Ksh.76.8 billion previously according to leading economic indicators from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
The higher fuel import bill driven on the other hand by a weaker Kenyan shillings against major world currencies has served to weaken Kenya’s trade balance.
For instance, new data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows the current account deficit widened to 5.3 per cent in 12 months to March 2022 from 4.7 per cent at the same time last year.
“The wider deficit reflects a higher import bill, particularly for oil, which more than offset increased receipts from agricultural and services exports, and remittances,” noted the CBK.
The fuel imports covered 21.3 per cent of total imports to Kenya through the first three months of the year.
The value of total imports in the period grew by 21.3 per cent from March 2021 to Ksh.591.6 billion.
On the flipside, the country’s exports have grown slower at 8.4 per cent to Ksh.182.7 billion from Ksh.168.5 billion a year ago.