SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Kenya has bought nearly 300,000 tonnes of oil products for July, almost one-third less than its previous purchase and at firmer premiums, traders said on Wednesday.
The country’s energy ministry has bought 97,525 tonnes of jet fuel, 100,000 tonnes of gasoline and 95,704 tonnes of gasoil through a tender. The gasoil import volumes were down by more than 50 percent from the prior purchase, for May and June, but the reason for the decline was unclear.
Kenya has bought 45,000 tonnes of jet fuel for delivery over July 13-15 from Gulf Energy and 52,525 tonnes for delivery over August 2-4 from Total Kenya at premiums of $25.84 and $18.68 a tonne over Middle East quotes, respectively.
It also bought two gasoline cargoes of 50,000 tonnes each for delivery over July 19-21 and August 5-7 from Total Kenya and KenolKobil.
It paid premiums of $18.74 and $6.44 a tonne, respectively, for the cargoes.
For the 500 ppm sulphur gasoil, Kenya bought a 65,000-tonne parcel from Total Kenya for delivery into Kipevu Oil Terminal over August 9-11 at a premium of $34.83 a tonne over Middle East quotes.
It also bought 30,704 tonnes of a similar grade for delivery into Shimanzu Oil Terminal at a premium of $62.44 a tonne from KenolKobil.
Lower inflation and cheaper staple fuels have boosted Kenya’s purchasing power for refined oil products. Its economy is dependent on diesel for transport, power generation and agriculture, and kerosene is used in homes for power generation.
For May and June, Kenya had bought more than 450,000 tonnes of oil products, marking its biggest volumes purchased for this year.
