Cooking gas prices hit six-year low on cheaper crude oil

Cooking gas prices have hit a six-year low on cheaper crude oil, offering additional relief to homes enjoying cheaper food.

Official data shows the 13-kilogramme gas cylinder retailed at an average Sh2, 268 in April, down from Sh2, 277 a month earlier and Sh2, 343 in January.

Gas prices are trading at levels last seen in 2010, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data.

Lower income households which use charcoal will however continue paying more as the price of a four kilogramme tin rose to Sh78.82, the highest since KNBS started making public monthly prices of the commodity in 2007.

The KNBS data shows that cooking gas prices for the 13kg cylinder have dropped by Sh826 over the last two years.

The drop looks set to ease pressure on household budgets for middle and upper income households who are also enjoying cheaper petrol that hit a six-year low mid-last month.

Unlike petrol, diesel and kerosene, cooking gas prices are not regulated by the Energy Regulatory Commission and have been left to market forces.

Gas has become the preferred energy source for households, especially in major towns, due to its convenience and because it is cleaner compared to other sources of energy used for cooking.

READ: Cooking gas prices now drop to a four-year low

Oil marketers have been pushing for more rigorous checks on unlicensed gas operators, whom they accuse of undercutting the market through irregular refilling.

Through the Petroleum Institute of East Africa, the marketers claimed last August that seven out of 10 gas cylinders in the market are illegally refilled, posing danger to users.

Crude oil prices have dropped from a high of $115 per barrel in 2014 to the current range of $40s on oversupply amid cooling demand from major economies.

Cooking gas, also known as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is one of the products derived during the refining of crude oil.