The IMF estimates indicate that in many countries, fuel prices are significantly lower than their efficient levels. Efficient prices are those that reflect both the cost of supply and the associated environmental costs. When it comes to gasoline, countries such as Malaysia, Colombia, Russia and Indonesia have the largest underpricing. In South Africa, gasoline is priced at about 80% of its efficient level by these estimates, while electricity for residential use is priced at around 75% of its efficient level and coal for power at just over 30%. It is interesting that there are some countries where some fuel categories have higher prices than efficient levels in 2022, such as residential electricity in Germany and New Zealand.
