Kenya Oil Marketers Seek Hedge to Shelter From Low Prices
Kenya Oil Marketers Seek Hedge to Shelter From Low Prices
Kenya’s oil marketing companies asked the government to help them hedge against falling prices ahead of the regulator’s monthly review of retail rates.
In the price-review scheduled for Thursday, authorities should exclude April-priced cargo that wasn’t sold as the coronavirus crushed demand, the retailers said in a letter to the petroleum cabinet secretary. The government should give “the much-needed grace period to sell the expensive inventory,” they said.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority Director-General Pavel Oimeke criticized the proposal. It would “contravene the law,” Oimeke said by phone.
Demand for gasoline and diesel declined 40% in April after Kenya restricted movement as part of measures to curb the virus outbreak, according to the marketers. The East African nation has confirmed 715 Covid-19 cases and 36 deaths.
READ: Kenya Slashes Gasoline Prices by 16% From April 15
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