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Benzene Price Surges by 7.7pc, While Diesel Jumps by 8.3pc

Apr 1 , 2026

Federal trade authorities have made a sweeping upward revision to domestic fuel prices effective Wednesday evening, April 1, 2026, as geopolitical volatility in the Middle East forces the government to pass a greater share of rising procurement costs onto consumers.

The adjustment comes one month after the previous price setting, signaling a quickening pace of fiscal reform amid mounting global instability.

Officials at the Ministry of Trade & Regional Integration (MoTRI) set new pricing structure, with benzene surging from 132.18 Br to 142.4 Br a litre, a 7.7pc increase, while standard diesel climbed by 8.3pc to reach 151.39 Br. However, the most acute pressure was felt in the industrial and heavy transport sectors. Heavy black diesel saw the most dramatic surge, jumping by 19.9pc from 133.45 Br to 160 Br a litre, a jump that is expected to reverberate through manufacturing and logistics supply chains.

Other grades saw similarly aggressive hikes, including light black diesel by 19.6pc to 163.9 Br, and white diesel climbed by 16.6pb to 163 Br. Trads ​officials attributed the timing of the hike to the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, which has fractured global supply chains and  delayed the arrival of a critical 180,000tns fuel shipment.

For Ethiopia, which imports nearly four million tonnes of fuel annually, such disruptions create immediate inventory bottlenecks and exacerbate the foreign exchange requirements needed to secure future deliveries.

Despite the higher prices at the pump, trade official state the government continues to provide a substantial cushion, subsidising diesel at 95 Br a litre and gasoline at 42 Br. With total subsidy spending having already reached 262 billion Br, the federal government is currently struggling with a monthly fiscal burden estimated between 15 billion and 20 billion Br.

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