IES Warns of Potential Fuel Price Hike as Middle East Tensions Escalate
The Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Security (IES), Nana Amoasi VII, has cautioned that Ghana may face a possible hike in fuel prices in the coming weeks if tensions in the Middle East persist.
His warning comes in the wake of renewed hostilities between Iran and Israel—developments that continue to unsettle global oil markets.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Monday, June 16, 2025, Nana Amoasi VII noted that while domestic fuel prices remain stable for now, global dynamics could soon exert upward pressure on local pump prices.
“I am sure within the next two weeks. Currently, we do not expect to see any price increases on the domestic market, as the prices determined over the last two weeks remain in effect today,” he stated.
He, however, acknowledged that local prices could witness a marginal dip in the short term, but cautioned that this may not last.
“We are going to experience some stability or some drop in fuel prices from today going forward. However, because prices have started skyrocketing on the global market, means that we must get ready for a possible hike in the next two weeks,” he said, adding, “For how long this will stay and how we can manage, we have little to do to change the narrative out there. So, we can only pray that God will intervene.”
Nonetheless, Nana Amoasi VII expressed cautious optimism, suggesting that any breakthrough in diplomatic negotiations between the warring parties could help ease global price volatility.
Meanwhile, the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC) has allayed immediate concerns over local pump prices.
COMAC Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Riverson Oppong, explained that changes in global crude oil prices typically take time to reflect in domestic markets.
“Despite fuel prices going up over the weekend because of the Iranian-Israeli war, you realize that our forecast does not in any way capture those movements. This is the reason why I say that when fuel prices are going up, we do not see the effect immediately on pump prices in this country,” Dr. Oppong said.
He added, “It is the same thing when it is going down—we should not expect fuel prices to hit our prices immediately because it takes time for the landing prices to be changed.”
According to him, prices at the pump will remain relatively stable this week due to pre-existing supply contracts and inventory positions.
“For this week, we are going to have cool prices at the pump level because we are going to sell old stocks or people who have locked in products and paid for it already or may have signed some commercial agreement,” he noted.
The remarks from both IES and COMAC suggest that while short-term price stability is expected, prolonged geopolitical instability in the Middle East could have downstream effects on Ghana’s fuel market in the near term.
