Worries over fuel price hikes

The Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources has increased petrol prices by 96 thebe and diesel by 60 thebe in the past two months as international oil prices, now hovering around $70 per barrel, continue to steadily firm on  both speculation and hope that  the worst of the  economic recession is over.

From an all time high of $147 per barrel in July last year, international oil prices tumbled  to just under $40 per barrel early this year. As fuel prices weakened,  annual inflation in Botswana fell from 15 percent in November  to  just seven percent in June 2009 prompting  the Bank of Botswana to cut down interest rates.