Senegal has increased the prices of petrol and diesel, citing a sharp rise in global oil prices linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Effective Saturday, August 15, the price of super petrol rose by 70 CFA francs to 990 CFA francs per litre, while diesel increased by 75 CFA francs to 755 CFA francs per litre.
The government said prices of other petroleum products, including cooking gas and fuel used by pirogue operators, remain unchanged.
Authorities said the new prices merely restore petrol and diesel rates to the levels in effect before a reduction introduced on December 6 last year.
The government attributed the increase to the impact of the Middle East conflict, which began on February 28 and has triggered a surge in international oil prices. Since the conflict began, the cost of diesel has increased by 69 percent, while super petrol has risen by 61 percent.
According to the government, it delayed the adjustment as long as possible but has already spent more than 245 billion CFA francs on fuel subsidies since the beginning of the year.
It warned that maintaining the previous prices would have required an additional 47 billion CFA francs in subsidies in just one month.
The government described the latest increase as a partial and measured adjustment, stressing that pump prices remain below the actual cost of importing the products.
It added that social protection programmes would continue to support vulnerable households and cushion the impact of the higher fuel prices.
