The average price paid by consumers in Nigeria for a litre of petrol increased by 28.49% in June 2021 from N128.88 recorded in the comparable period of 2020 to N165.61 in June 2021.
This is contained in the Premium Motor Spirit price watch report, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
According to the report, petrol price increased year-on-year but recorded a decline of 1.46% bases on a month-on-month comparison with N168.06 recorded in May 2021.
This indicates a relative decline in the cost of goods when compared to the previous month, a reflection of the statement made by the federal government in May 2021 that petrol price will not increase in June 2021.
The statement was made by the minister of state for petroleum, Timipre Sylva that the current price of petrol will be retained until the engagement with the organised labour is concluded.
A cursory look at the data shows that the price of petrol in Nigeria has averaged N162.56 in the past year, peaking at N72.68 per litre in March 2021 and a low of N143.63 in July 2020.
It is worth noting that, though there was no budgetary allocation for subsidy in the 2021 budget, the Nigerian government is likely to have begun subsidising fuel prices again. The landing cost of PMS is estimated at N180/litre and currently selling at an average of N165, which represents an average subsidy of N15 per litre.
Recall, that following the launch of the Nigerian Upstream Cost Optimisation Program on 9 February 2021, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylvia hinted at the inevitable increase in the price of petrol as no budgetary provisions for subsidy was made in the 2021 budget.
However, he has maintained lately that there will be no further increase in the price of petrol in Nigeria until the dialogue with the organised labour is concluded.
States with the highest cost
In terms of state with the highest cost of petrol per litre, Benue tops the list, selling at N183.29 per litre, representing a variance of N17.68 compared to the national average of N165.61 recorded in the review month.
Abia State follows with N171.88 per litre, a N6.27 difference compared to the national average, while Cross River recorded an average price of N170.5 per litre.
On the other hand, states in the northern part of the country, top the list of states with the lowest price of petrol. Katsina top the list with a price per litre of N160.86, followed closely by Borno State with N160.1 and Taraba with N157.33.
What this means
This indicates that despite soaring inflationary pressure in the previous year, which was escalated by the covid-pandemic, EndASRS protest, and a host of others, the rate of increase in the price of commodities is beginning to trickle down.
For example, the latest report showed that Nigerians spent less on buying petrol in June 2021 compared to the previous month.
