The Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) has increased pump prices for gasoline and diesel, attributing the changes to instability of petroleum products on the global market.

New prices for petroleum products will see a litre of fuel costing 1609 Rwf, up from 1460 Rwf, while a litre of diesel will cost 1607 Rwf from 1503 Rwf.

The revised prices, according to Minister of Infrastructure Ernest Nsabimana, take effect from August 8, for a period of two months.

Fuel prices are normally reviewed every two months.

While appearing before the national broadcaster on Sunday August 7, Nsabimana said; "Specifically, for this period, we have maintained price increases of Rwf149 per litre for gasoline, and Rwf104 for diesel, instead of Rwf307 and Rwf254 respectively."

The development comes at a time petroleum pump prices for diesel and super petrol in Rwanda continue to soar.

However, Minister Nsabimana pointed out that in the past four months, the government injected Rwf 23 billion in subsiding petroleum products.

This decision, he said, was taken to mitigate the adverse impact of high fuel prices on general price increases (inflation) which would negatively affect the speed of the country's economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic toll.

"I also want to assure that there will be no increase in the cost of public transport because this subsidy has also been designed in a way that (public transport) operators benefit."

The soaring of fuel prices is a global challenge. This has greatly affected most economies across the globe including Rwanda.