Consumption of diesel, used to power trucks, buses, vans and factories, was up 28.4 per cent in the review period to 1.2 billion litres from 972.6 million litres, according to PIEA data.
Petrol consumption in Kenya jumped 31.5 per cent in the first half of the year as motorists took advantage of lower pump prices to keep cars on the road.
Industry data shows that Kenya consumed 787.9 million litres of petrol in the year to June, up from 599 million litres in a similar period of last year.
“The increase means private cars are on the increase and fuel is still affordable,” said the Petroleum Institute of East Africa (PIEA) – the lobby for oil marketers.
Consumption of diesel, used to power trucks, buses, vans and factories was up 27 per cent in the review period to 1.24 billion litres from 972.6 million litres, according to PIEA data.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), which caps maximum retail prices of petrol and diesel, early this year made multiple cuts on pump prices in response to tanking global oil prices.
Petrol prices stood at Sh88.64 a litre in January in Nairobi and Sh86.17 in June while diesel retailed at Sh76.7 at the beginning of the year but had dropped to Sh73.71 in June.
Petrol pump price stood at Sh92.88 in January 2015 before rising to Sh97.28 in June while diesel retailed at Sh83.35 at the start of the year and Sh83.31 in June.
