A severe fuel shortage has brought daily life to a crawl in Malawi.

In the capital, Lilongwe, drivers are waiting up to three days for petrol, and some sleep in their cars to hold their place in line, Al Jazeera reported. Businesses are losing customers as people struggle to get to work and take children to school.

The shortage entered its second week on Friday, the news site Malawi24 reported. The energy regulator and the energy ministry have not said when supplies will return to normal. "I didn't sleep," said minibus driver James Moyo, who waited at a filling station until about 4 a.m.

Diesel has been short for about three weeks, and petrol followed, said Happy Jere, who chairs the Fuel Retailers Association of Malawi, The Rio Times reported. City stations get only about 30% of their normal diesel supply. Remote stations get none. Jere blamed a lack of U.S. dollars to pay fuel suppliers.

The shortage is driving up prices. Some minibus fares in Lilongwe have risen from 4,000 kwacha, about $2.33, to 6,000 kwacha, about $3.49. Black-market fuel sells for about three and a half times the official petrol price.

Economist Dennis Richard wrote in the Maravi Post that the problem has both global and local causes. The Iran war has raised world oil prices. But how hard the shock hits depends on things at home, such as dollar reserves, fuel pricing rules and fuel stockpiles. Malawi has had repeated fuel crises because it often runs short of foreign currency.

Malawi is a landlocked country in southern Africa. All of its fuel must be trucked or shipped in through neighboring countries.

What we know: drivers in Lilongwe are spending nights in fuel queues.
What we don't: when new fuel supplies will arrive or how long the shortage will last.