Mauritius and Madagascar face fuel price pressures amid Middle East conflict

In Mauritius, the Petroleum Pricing Committee is set to meet on July 31 to decide whether to raise fuel prices modestly or keep them unchanged. The discussion comes as Middle East hostilities have pushed Brent crude from about $89.50 to a recent peak of $100.52 per barrel, increasing import costs. The State Trading Corporation has absorbed part of the higher freight and insurance expenses to shield consumers, but its Price Stabilisation Account deficit has risen from roughly Rs 1.9 billion to Rs 3.6 billion.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund has postponed a $183 million disbursement to Madagascar after the government imposed a fuel‑price cap under an energy emergency. The IMF board removed the item from its agenda, citing the cap as a barrier to the automatic price‑adjustment mechanism it recommends to limit the budget impact of soaring global oil prices caused by the Middle East war.