According to projections from the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), fuel prices in the nation may rise to close to GH 6.86 per litre at the pumps if all other variables affecting pricing remain constant.
According to Abass Ibrahim Tasunti, the NPA’s Head of Pricing, the second pricing window for October sets the price of petrol at GH6.84 per litre, while diesel is expected to sell at GH6.86 per litre from October 16, 2021, barring any changes in the global oil market.
These estimates do not account for the margins of oil marketing firms and bulk distribution corporations, which may cause the anticipated amounts to increase while statutory taxes and margins stay same.
“All things being equal, for the next window, [since] the price of petrol on the world market has increased by about 9% and diesel has increased by about 10%, so these two, holding everything constant will project that petrol will increase by about 5% and diesel also increase around the same figure which will take us to about GH¢6.84 for petrol and GH¢6.86 for diesel… This is the next window, which starts from the 16th of October,” he said.
Meanwhile, Duncan Amoah, Executive Director of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), has voiced concern that the movement of forex could cause the price of fuel to rise to at least GH 7 by the end of the month.
While maintaining that government taxes on petroleum prices continue to play a major part in the country’s increasing fuel costs, he said the government must make steps to solve the issue in order to provide relief to citizens.
“We can get to GH¢ 7 by end of October. If we are doing about GH¢ 6.8 for the projection, we are just about 14 pesewas shy so by the close of the month which is the first window in November if the trend continues and the cedi comes under the kind of pressure you will normally see towards the last quarter because of the pressure from importation, I do not see how GH¢ 7 is not possible before November,” he said.
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