GOVERNMENT has hiked fuel prices by 150% and also formally gazetted US dollar prices in a move that continues to redollarise the market and setting the stage for another wave of price increases.
BY FIDELITY MHLANGA
In a circular on Tuesday night, Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority announced that a litre of diesel now costs $62,77 from $24,90 or US $1,09 per litre.
Petrol now costs $71,62 from $28,90 or US$1,28 per litre.
The new prices were announced a few hours after the central bank abandoned the fixed exchange rate of US$1:$25 and adopted a forex auction system which set the official Zimbabwe dollar exchange rate to the US dollar at US$1:$57,36, for a week at least.
Zera has set the stage for fuel dealers to stop selling in the inflation ravaged Zimdollar, preferring hard currency.
Fuel shortages, which have been a permanent feature on the market for years, worsened in recent months with motorists spending days in queues.
Listed companies in their financial reports have continuously bemoaned the crippling effects of the fuel crisis on their operations which has increasingly become an albatross on the ease of doing of business in Zimbabwe.
