Fuel pump prices are expected to increase on Wednesday, 2 September, due to changes in the international price and exchange rate, the Ministry of Mines and Energy announced. Senior public relations officer, Andreas Simon in a media statement on Friday said that 50ppm diesel will increase by 15 cents and 95 octane petrol by 30 cents, bringing new fuel pump prices in Walvis Bay to N$11,65 per litre for petrol and N$11.98 for diesel. “The price of fuel is influenced mainly by two factors; the internal cost of refined petroleum products at which fuel is imported into the country and the exchange rate. The objective of the review exercise is to ensure that the fuel pump price is at all times reflective of import price and to do so in an orderly manner,” Simon said. He added that the fuel pump price review can either reveal an under-recovery, indicating the pump prices were lower than import price or an over-recovery, indicating that the pump price was higher than the import price. An under-recovery is ordinarily passed onto the consumer or alternatively, it is financed from the National Energy Fund. During August 2020, the international price of refined petroleum products stabilised in comparison to previous months. The average international price for refined petrol was US$47,24 per barrel compared to US$46,58 in July 2020, while that of refined diesel was US$48,79 per barrel compared to US$49,33. -NAMPA