The Institute for Energy Security ( IES ) forecasts a 3% to 5% decrease in the price of fuel per liter at the pumps, notwithstanding the cedi’s slight decline against the dollar.
Several Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), notably the market leader, Total Petroleum PLC, have already reduced their prices by around 2.2 percent.
According to the IES, the decline in petroleum prices at the pump is due to a decline in the price of Brent oil on the international market.
“With the 0.98% increase in the price of the International Benchmark- Brent crude together with the 11.68% decrease in gasoline price, the 8.64% decrease in gasoil price; the Institute for Energy Security (IES) projects for a 3-5% downward adjustment in the price of fuel per liter at the various pumps despite the marginal depreciation of the cedi of 1%”, it said in a statement.
However, it said that “concerns about pandemic [Covid-19] weighed on oil prices during the recently closed trading window, following reports that the omicron variant was set to have a negative impact on oil consumption. These findings are in spite of reports that the variety in question causes far fewer symptoms among those infected than previous varieties.”
“There is still some concern on the market about the possibility of more Covid-19 measures that might cut oil consumption going forward”, it added.
Local fuel market performance
For the local fuel market, prices decreased marginally within the window under review, the IES said.
GOIL, the market’s biggest stakeholder among the OMCs, lowered its margins on the Price Build-Up (PBU), resulting in lower pump prices. This was part of a package of actions to protect consumers from increasing fuel costs and in response to the Ghana Private Road Transport Unions’ (GPRTU) demand for fuel price reductions.
Other OMCs also reduced their prices.
The current national average price of gasoline and gasoline oil per liter at the pump is 6.58, a drop of 2% from the previous window’s national average price of 6.71 per liter.
Benab Oil, Cash Oil, Goodness Oil, Top Oil, Zen Petroleum, Star Oil, and Frimps Oil sold the cheapest fuel on the local market during the pricing window under consideration.
According to the IES Market-Scan, Shell (Vivo), Total, Engen, GOIL, Allied, Petrosol, and Puma had the highest-priced fuel on the market.
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SOURCE: myjoyonline
