IES predicts marginal increase in fuel prices starting August 16
Fuel prices may see a marginal increase starting Tuesday, August 16, 2022, the Institute for Energy Security (IES) has predicted.
This is despite the 8.48% fall in the price of petrol, 5.86% fall in the price of LPG, and the 7.26% fall in diesel.
“The steep depreciation of the Ghana cedi against the US dollar may wipe away the gains from the international fuel market. On the back of the fall in the value of the cedi, Ghanaians may either have to buy fuel at a much higher price or contend with the current pump prices, in the coming days”, it explained.
Two weeks ago, the local market saw marginal reduction in the price of petroleum products in response to price changes in the international market.
Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), the IES, monitored within the pricing window shed off 40 pesewas on their prices at their pumps.
The national average price per litre of petrol stood GHS 10.58, down from GHS 11.30 in the last window, representing a 6.37% reduction.
The price of diesel per litre however stood at GHS 13.28, from a previous average of GHS 13.65, representing a 2.71% reduction.
World oil market
The price of Brent crude continued to fall on the international market.
The international benchmark saw a price reduction of 2.80% over the previous pricing window’s average price to a current average price of $98.38 per barrel, from $101.21 per barrel.
Cedi depreciation
The IES said its data from the foreign exchange (forex) market over the last two weeks depicts a further steep depreciation of the cedi against the US dollar.
The cedi depreciated by 5.40% from the previous rate of GHS 8.35 to the current rate of GHS 8.83 to the US dollar.