Eritrea ends fuel rationing with a 40 percent hike in price

ASMARA, Sept 30 (AFP) — Eritrea on Thursday ended a nearly month-long rationing of fuel with an increase in prices by up to 40 percent.

There was no official announcement about the end of rationing, but word quickly spread in the capital Asmara, amid long queues at fueling stations.

Under the new prices, a litre of petrol increased by 40 percent to cost 20 Nakfas (1.43 dollars, 1.14 euros) a litre, while diesel increased by 25 percent to 10 Nakfas (0,7 dollars or 0,56 euros).

The general manager of the Petroleum Corporation of Eritrea, Tesfai Zecharias, was not available to comment.

Last week, the corporation said fluctuating oil prices in the world market had forced it to “regulate petrol consumption”, but diplomats told AFP that the rationing could be linked to a possible shortage of foreign currency.

It is the second time since the official independence of Eritrea in 1993 that the government has rationed petrol.

When fuel was rationed for almost three weeks last year, the petroleum corporation chief denied there was a shortage and said the measure had been applied “to put an end to the superfluous consumption of petrol.”

Eritrea, a small country of the Horn of Africa, imports all of its fuel.