The Energy Regulation Board has kept pump prices unchanged for September: petrol at K25.29, diesel at K26.86, kerosene at K27.02 and Jet A-1 at K28.71 per litre. ERB board chairperson James Banda said international prices came under upward pressure from Middle East geopolitical tensions and exchange-rate movements — but the board held the line.
The mechanism matters more than the headline. Excise duty on fuel remains suspended and VAT zero-rated — both appear as dashes, not numbers, on the ERB's September price build-up — and the regulator's price-smoothing mechanism absorbed the rest.
The year's real story
Diesel hit K33.99 in May after a global oil shock, and has fallen every month since until this hold. September's price is 21% below that peak — and Zambia now has the cheapest diesel among the region's tracked markets, at roughly US$1.41 a litre against South Africa's US$1.81 wholesale.
September 2026 pump prices
- Petrol: K25.29 (unchanged)
- Diesel: K26.86 (unchanged)
- Kerosene: K27.02 · Jet A-1: K28.71
- Uniform nationally — same price in Nakonde as in Lusaka
The next review lands at the end of September. Watch the kwacha and the Hormuz situation: those two lines decide what you pay in October.
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