Ghana: Fuel Prices To Remain Stable In First Half Of November-IES

The Institute of Energy Securities (IES), an Energy Think Tank in the Republic of Ghana has said fuel prices at various pumps on the local market is expected to remain stable in the first pricing window of November 2020.

Prices of petroleum products within the second Pricing-window of October 2020 saw majority of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) maintaining prices of Gasoline and Gasoil.

Presently, the average price of fuel at various pumps across the country stands at GH¢4.53.

Brent crude price averaged about $42.38 per barrel mark for the Pricing-window under assessment.

The crude price increment has been a result of the announcement by OPEC+ to ease production cuts by 2 million barrels per day (bpd) as of January 2021.

Following this, Brent crude price appreciated by 1.15% from an earlier average price of $41.90 per barrel recorded at the end of the first Pricing-window of October to close at $42.38 per barrel on average terms at end of the second Pricing-window of October.

At about 13:40 GMT on Monday WTI was trading at $35.65 while Brent crude was sold at $37.86

“Owing to the 1.15% increment in price of International Benchmark- Brent crude oil on the international market, the 1.82% increment in prices of Gasoil, the 5.08% decrease in Gasoline prices and the 0.35% depreciation of the local currency; the Institute for Energy Security (IES) foresees prices of fuel on the domestic market maintaining their stability as we enter the first half of November 2020,” IES said.

Local Fuel Market Performance

Prices of fuel on the local market remained stable within the window under review. Prices of petroleum products within the second Pricing-window of October 2020 saw majority of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) maintaining prices of Gasoline and Gasoil. The current national average price of fuel per litre at the pump is pegged at GHC 4.53

For this Pricing-window, Zen Petroleum, Benab Oil, SO Energy and Alinco Oil sold the least-priced Gasoline and Gasoil on the local market according to IES Market-Scan.

World Oil Market

Brent crude price averaged about $42.38 per barrel mark for the Pricing-window under assessment. The crude price increment has been a result of the announcement by OPEC+ to ease production cuts by 2 million barrels per day (bpd) as of January 2021. Following this, Brent crude price appreciated by 1.15% from an earlier average price of $41.90 per barrel recorded at the end of the first Pricing-window of October to close at $42.38 per barrel on average terms at end of the second Pricing-window of October.

Gasoline and Gasoil prices as monitored on Standard and Poor’s global Platts platform shows an increase in prices of Gasoil and a decrease in prices of Gasoline. Gasoline saw a decrease in prices by 5.08% to close the window at $381.07 per metric tonne from an earlier $401.48 per metric tonne. Gasoil prices saw an increase by 1.82% to close trading at $334.02 per metric tonne from $328.05 at the end of the second pricing window.

Local Forex

Data collated by IES Economic Desk from the Foreign Exchange (Forex) market shows the Cedi depreciated marginally against the U.S. Dollar, trading at an average price of Gh¢5.77 to the U.S. Dollar over the period compared to Gh¢5.75 in the previous window representing a 0.35% depreciation.

PROJECTIONS FOR NOVEMBER 2020 FIRST PRICING-WINDOW

Owing to the 1.15% increment in price of International Benchmark- Brent crude oil on the international market, the 1.82% increment in prices of Gasoil, the 5.08% decrease in Gasoline prices and the 0.35% depreciation of the local currency; the Institute for Energy Security (IES) foresees prices of fuel on the domestic market maintaining their stability as we enter the first half of November 2020.