Morocco Secures Top Spot Among African Nations with Soaring Gasoline Prices

Wednesday 22 May 2024 - 17:00

In a recent report by Global Petrol Prices, a platform tracking fuel costs across the globe, Morocco has emerged as one of the African countries grappling with the highest gasoline prices. Despite a marginal dip last week, fuel prices in the North African nation continue to soar, surpassing last year's rates and posing challenges for consumers and businesses alike.

The report revealed that the average price per liter of gasoline in Morocco stands at a staggering MAD 15.46, equivalent to approximately $1.54. This figure places Morocco in the fourth position among African nations with the highest gasoline prices, trailing behind Central Africa, Senegal, and Seychelles, where prices range from $1.822 to $1.631 per liter. Zimbabwe closely follows Morocco, with a per-liter gasoline price of $1.580.

In contrast, Libya and Egypt offer the most affordable rates on the continent, with gasoline prices hovering around $0.031 and $0.289 per liter, respectively. Global Petrol Prices' estimates are derived from historical gasoline pricing data from each featured country, updated with current exchange rates and international oil prices. According to the report, the global average gasoline price stands at $1.35 per liter for the corresponding period.

Despite the recent marginal decline, Morocco's fuel prices remain stubbornly high, exacerbated by successive hikes during the summer of 2023. Over the past months, the country has taken proactive measures to address the issue of soaring fuel costs.

In December 2023, the Competition Council, the Moroccan market's watchdog, announced that oil companies operating in the diesel and gasoline markets would face further sanctions for non-compliance with competition regulations. This announcement followed a comprehensive evaluation that had revealed alleged anticompetitive practices among nine implicated oil firms involved in the supply, storage, and distribution of diesel and gasoline.

A month earlier, these nine fuel companies had been fined a total of $180 million and had agreed, among other measures, to file regular reports to the Competition Council for the next five years. The probe was triggered in the wake of a report released in August 2023 that identified several antitrust practices committed by fuel companies in Morocco.

As the nation grapples with the economic implications of high fuel costs, consumers and businesses alike eagerly await further measures from the authorities to address this pressing issue and restore affordability in the fuel sector.