Fuel Price: Total leads OMCs with GHS 10.80, GHS 9.70 prices for diesel and petrol
Total, one of the country’s biggest Oil Marketing Company (OMC) has led the way with its adjustment in the price of petrol and diesel sold at its pumps as at Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
Checks by norvanreports indicate that Total is the only OMC in the country that has reviewed upwards the price of petrol and diesel at its pumps, while the other major OMCs such as GOIL and Shell are yet to do so.
At Total filling stations across the country, a litre of diesel is going for GHS 10.70 and a litre of petrol is also going for GHS 9.70.
Previously, the two petroleum products were being sold at an average price of GHS 8.20.
The new price for diesel and petrol, reflects a 14% and 19% upward adjustment in the prices of the petroleum products and is in line with the anticipated fuel price hikes by the IES and COPEC in the second-pricing window of the month of March.
Before March 1, 2022, petrol and diesel traded at an average GHS 7.50 per litre, representing an increment of 8.6 per cent in the just-ended pricing window.
In the March, 2022 First Pricing Window, the IES found that the Cedi depreciated by 4.82 per cent to close at GHS 7.17 to the dollar from the earlier window’s rate of GHS 6.85 to $1.
With respect to the cost of fuel on the international market, the Institute found that the price of the international benchmark Brent Crude rose to 14-year highs within the period under assessment, reaching an average of $112.87 per barrel and representing an increase of 19.95 per cent over the previous window’s average price of $94.10 per barrel.
Additionally, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC) had also projected that the price of diesel is likely to sell at over GHS 10 per litre while petrol will cross GHS 9 from Wednesday.
In a statement, it said the Free On Board prices of petrol increased by 19.28% from $917.48/MT to 1094.33/MT, diesel by 34.57% from $845.50/MT to $1137.78/MT and LPG by 17.42% from $845.93/MT to $993.25/MT between the first pricing window (1st-15th March 2022) and the second window (16th-31st March 2022).
“The petroleum price indicators as published by the NPA shows that the price of Gasoil (diesel) will increase by 30.41% from GH¢8.22 per litre in this current window to Gh¢10.721 per litre beginning 16th March 2022 and ex-pump prices of Gasoline (petrol) will increase by 18.25% from GH¢8.22 per litre to GH¢727 per litre within the same period,” it said.
Meanwhile, the Concerned Drivers Association of Ghana (C-DAG) has given a one-week ultimatum to government to reduce fuel prices or the Association will be forced to take drastic decisions.
The threat by C-DAG follows the continuous increase in petroleum products within just three months into the year.