A third increase in as many weeks, but this time around the cost of petrol and diesel in Zimbabwe have gone up only marginally in response to the global oil markets.

Fuel prices have gone up by less than 1 percent with the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) saying petrol would cost ZWL$7.55 per litre, up from ZWL$7.47 while diesel was up by 3 cents from ZWL$7.19

“The changes in the fuel price are due to the FOB (Free on Board) price movements,” Zera said.

“Operators may however, sell at prices below the cap depending on their trading advantages.”

FOB refers to costs related to shipping the product.

Just last week, Zera increased fuel prices by around 23 percent.

A litre of petrol went up to ZWL$7.45, a 22% jump from ZWL$6.10 dollars previously, while diesel rose to ZWL$7.19 a litre, a near similar rise to the petrol increase at 23%.

Calculations show that both petrol and diesel prices have gone up by 456% so far to date as inflationary pressures continue to dog the economy, moreso after the fiscal authorities last month moved to end the multicurrency system and installed the Zimbabwe dollar as the country’s sole.

With the official circa 1:8,8 between the United States dollar and the Zimbabwe dollar, the new price of fuel remains below US$1 dollar, making it among the cheapest regionally.