Ghana: More Pain For Consumers As IES Predicts Another Fuel Price Hike

The Institute for Energy Security, an energy think tank in the Republic of Ghana, is urging Ghanaians to brace themselves up to pay more for fuel as prices of the commodity will be going up again from March.

Prices of petrol and diesel have been going up almost every fortnight in the Republic of Ghana.

Currently, the average price of both gasoil and gasoline is around GH¢7.86 per litre.

In a statement issued by Fritz Moses, IES’s Research Analyst, on Monday, February 28, 2022, as the second pricing window closes, said: “As we enter March 2022, the Institute for Energy Security (IES) projects another rise in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), diesel and petrol at the pump.”

He said the impending price increases have been largely influenced by the sharp depreciation of the Ghanaian Cedi against the US Dollar, adding that data analyzed by the IES Economic Desk on the foreign exchange (Forex) market within the pricing-window, reveals that the Ghanaian Cedi further depreciated against the major trading currencies. Against the Greenback, the Cedi depreciated further by 4.11 per cent to close at Gh¢6.85 to the Dollar.

According to him, other factors which are expected to push the fuel prices upward include the 3.33 per cent increase in the price of Brent crude, the 2.71 per cent rise in LPG price, the 3.58 per cent increase in the price of gasoline and the 4.50 per cent jump in gasoline price; all on the international oil and fuel markets.

Crude oil prices have been soaring since the beginning of the year.

Gasoline, Gasoil and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), monitored on Standard and Poor’s (S&P’s) global Platts platform, also points to increases within the just ended pricing window.

The price of gasoline increased by 4.50 per cent, representing an addition of $39.71 to its earlier price of $882.27 to close at $921.98 per metric tonne.

Gasoil price also extended its gains by 3.58 per cent, adding $29.44 to its earlier price of $821.46 per metric tonne ending the period at $850.90 per metric tonne.

Also, the price of LPG on the international fuel market recorded a marginal jump of 2.71 per cent to add $22.29 to its earlier price of $828.79 to close trading at $851.28 per metric tonne.