Institute for Energy Security foresees unaltered fuel prices in first-pricing window of September
Fuel prices are anticipated to remain steady during the first two weeks of September 2023, according to projections by the Institute for Energy Security.
This expectation is attributed to the deceleration in international movements of petroleum products and the stability of the Ghanaian cedi against the U.S. dollar during the second pricing window of August 2023.
The observed dynamics of finished petroleum products on the Standard & Poor (S&P) Platt platform in the previous window showed Gasoline (petrol) trading at $989.48 per metric tonne compared to the previous $967.29 per metric tonne.
Similarly, Gasoil (diesel) shifted from $901.73 per metric tonne to $912.68, while the price of Liquid Petroleum Gas moved to $557.05 per metric tonne from $547.52. These fluctuations translated into price effects of 2.29%, 0.13%, and 1.7% for Gasoline, Gasoil, and LPG, respectively.
The IES Economic Desk’s analysis of the foreign exchange (forex) market indicated a 0.52% depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi against the U.S. dollar over the past two weeks, moving from ¢11.39 to ¢11.45.
In the local fuel market, during the second pricing window of August, domestic petroleum product prices experienced increases of 5% for diesel and 3.90% for petrol.
A simple random sampling of Oil Marketing Companies’ (OMCs) price data by the IES over the same period showed average prices per litre of petrol at ¢13.02, diesel at ¢12.85, and LPG at ¢13.14 per kilogramme.
On the global front, Brent Crude oil was priced at $84.48 per barrel on August 28, 2023, with an average price per barrel of $84.16. The current landscape is influenced by China’s property crisis, causing reduced risk appetite and concerns about the country’s economic health. Despite this, data from China’s oil consumption suggests contrary trends, leaving analysts skeptical of these fears.
