Petrol rises 28% in Angola after subsidy ends
by Agency Staff,
2015-05-14 12:27:35.0
LUANDA — Angola’s petrol price has risen by 28% since the government ended subsidies at the end of April, residents in the capital said on Thursday, in a move likely to push up inflation in Africa’s second biggest oil exporter.
The pump price of petrol averaged 115 kwanza ($1.06) a litre, up from 90 kwanza a litre before the removal of subsidies on April 30, local residents said.
The finance ministry said in a statement last week it would remove subsidies from September 30 but another notice on its website said they would end on April 30. The ministry did not respond to requests for clarification.
Angola’s headline inflation rose to 8.23% year on year in April from 7.87% in March, and was likely to continue its upward momentum in May following the fuel price increase, economists said.
A sharp decline in global crude oil prices last year has helped push the local kwanza currency to record lows regularly in recent months.
The kwanza was trading at 108.95 against the dollar on the official market on Thursday, but was nearer 160 on the secondary market in Luanda.
Reuters
Picture: THINKSTOCK
LUANDA — Angola’s petrol price has risen by 28% since the government ended subsidies at the end of April, residents in the capital said on Thursday, in a move likely to push up inflation in Africa’s second biggest oil exporter.
The pump price of petrol averaged 115 kwanza ($1.06) a litre, up from 90 kwanza a litre before the removal of subsidies on April 30, local residents said.
The finance ministry said in a statement last week it would remove subsidies from September 30 but another notice on its website said they would end on April 30. The ministry did not respond to requests for clarification.
Angola’s headline inflation rose to 8.23% year on year in April from 7.87% in March, and was likely to continue its upward momentum in May following the fuel price increase, economists said.
A sharp decline in global crude oil prices last year has helped push the local kwanza currency to record lows regularly in recent months.
The kwanza was trading at 108.95 against the dollar on the official market on Thursday, but was nearer 160 on the secondary market in Luanda.
Reuters
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