Fuel price could hit GHS 20 per litre by December – OMCs boss says
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMC), Kwakye Agyemang Duah, has said the price of a litre of fuel at the pumps could reach GHS 20 by December this year.
According to Mr Duah, this is possible given the current trend and trajectory in the depreciation of the cedi against the dollar.
Speaking in an interview on TV3 and monitored by norvanreports on Friday, October 21, 2022, Mr Duah noted high demand for the dollar by both OMCs and members of the Ghana Union Traders Association (GUTA) will cause the cedi to depreciate further, causing the increment in fuel prices.
Price of petrol and diesel at the pumps at the beginning of the second pricing window of October, increased by 7% and 12% respectively.
At the moment, a litre of petrol sells for GHS 13.10 whereas a litre of diesel sells for GHS 15.99.
According to the Institute for Energy Security (IES), the increase in the price of fuel at the pumps was on the back of increments in the price of petroleum products on the international market and the significant decline in the value of the cedi.
“The sharp sharp rise in Gasoline and Gasoil prices on the global market may drive the price of domestic Gasoline and Gasoil rise higher, as against the rise in LPG price. In IES’ estimation, consumers of Gasoline and Gasoil may pay between 7 and 12 percent more for a liter at the pump in the next two weeks, with Gasoil per liter price hinging close to Gh¢15. Although the rise in price of LPG on the world market was moderate, the significant fall in the value of the Cedi, may cause the domestic selling price to rise by not less than 4 percent at the local pump,” the IES stated.
As of Friday morning (October 21, 2022), the cedi had depreciated to GHS 14.50 per a dollar on the retail market.
With the continuous depreciation of the cedi, it is likely that petroleum consumers could indeed buy a litre of fuel for GHS 20.