Ghanaians will soon pay more for fuel as the price of the commodity is tipped to increase by about 12 per cent for the next pricing window of June.
This would mean that the average price of fuel is likely to increase by about GHS1.33 per litre.
Petrol prices are projected to go up by GHS1.24/Litre which is an 11.41% increase and that of Diesel by GHS1.43 /Litre also a 12.93% increase.
The latest press release by the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC), explained what was is accounting for the anticipated price hikes.
“At the current Crude price of $124.96/Barrel, resulting in processed Petroleum Products of $1,451.25/MT of Petrol and $1,289.97/MT for Diesel, coupled with further depreciation of the exchange rate of $1:GHS8.0483 and the govt’s applicable tax rebate of 15 P per Litre still in place till the end of June 2022”
The average price of Petrol and Diesel at the pumps currently stands at GHS12.282 after selling at about GHS6.5 in January.
This was after Petrol and diesel crossed the GH10 and GH12 per litre marks this month.
Already, there are hints of another likely increment in transport fares after an earlier increment by 20 per cent has been explaining what is accounting for the latest increment.
What could be the way forward with the situation as there is no end in sight with global oil prices continuing to soar?
Head of Research at the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC) Benjamin Nsiah recommended that “ Tema Oil Refinery must be retooled, recapitalised and equipped with efficient managers to make the entity start operations and be profitable. We also must diversify our imports within the short and medium term. This means we need to begin to explore other countries, refineries and traders that will give us cheaper products compared to what we are getting now from the European and Arab areas.
“The Ministry of Trade, finance and the Bank of Ghana need to implement a coordinated plan to help the cedi appreciate against the dollar.”
When these three measures are put together within the shortest possible time we believe the price of fuel will reduce soon” he added.
Even though petrol and diesel are expected to go up, the narrative might be different for LPG as it’s expected to experience a marginal decrease in price, the statement added.
“LPG is also likely to sell around GHS10.024/kg showing a reduction of about 27 P/kg (-2.66%) over the previous window.”