Some of the Oil Marketing Companies (OMC) have started increasing prices of petroleum products at the pumps from August 1, 2023.
GOIL is selling a litre of petrol at ₵12.95 from its old price of ₵12.40.
Diesel is also selling at ₵12.95 from its old price of ₵12.45.
The Increase can be linked to the sudden increase in prices of finished petroleum products on the international market as well as some supply issues on the World Market.
Some Industry watchers say this is the biggest spike in prices of finished petroleum products on the international market since January this year.
The situation could cause inflation to go up as prices of fuel is an important component in the inflation basket.
In January, the Institute for Energy Security (IES) predicted between 7% and 13% jump in the prices of petrol, diesel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), from February 1, 2023, for the next two weeks.
This means petrol will sell at about ¢15 per litre, whilst diesel will go for over ¢17 per litre.
According to the IES, the rise in domestic fuel prices, is due to the sharp depreciation of the cedi during the last two weeks and the rising international fuel prices as observed on the global S&P Platts platform.
The energy think tank pointed out that the increase in fuel prices would be occasioned in spite of government’s receipt of approximately 41,000 metric tonne of diesel under its “Gold for Oil” programme.
“On the basis of the rising international fuel prices as observed on the global S&P Platts platform, linked with the local currency’s value decline against the greenback, the Institute for Energy Security (IES) estimates a 7% to 13% jump in the prices of Gasoline [petrol], Gasoil [diesel], and LPG over the next two weeks ending February 14, 2023”.
“The rise in domestic fuel prices would be occasioned in spite of government’s receipt of approximately 41,000 metric tonne of Gasoil under its “Gold for Oil” programme, and that consumers must be prepared to buy for instance, a litre of Gasoline [petrol] for roughly ¢15 in the coming days”, it stated.
The international crude oil benchmark Brent increased to about $86.14 per barrel on average terms from a previous average rate of $81.72 per barrel.
This represented a 5.41% increase in average price over the last two weeks.
Following an initial steady grind upwards to $88.16 per barrel at close January 23,Brent crude oil price settled lower on Friday January 26, 2023, making the commodity’s weekly finish flat to lower.