The Institute for Energy Security (IES) has predicted another fuel price hike in the first half of June 2024.
This forecast is based on recent trends in the international fuel market and the weakening performance of the Cedi in the domestic forex market.
“Gasoline [petrol], Gasoil [diesel], and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) all recorded a decrease of about 4.17%, 0.87%, and 3.44%, respectively over the last two weeks. Given the favourable price changes recorded on the international market for these products, prices at the local pumps should ordinarily reflect a reduction to relieve consumers. However, the massive fall (4.17%) of the Ghana cedi against the U.S. dollar may prevent a realisation of the full gains made on the world fuel market on the local fuel market”, it pointed out.
World Fuel Market
IES monitoring of the global Standard & Poor’s (S&P’s) Platts on petroleum products performance in the world fuel market shows that the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG have all decreased.
Published data for the second pricing window of May 2024 indicate that petrol closed at $851.73 per metric tonne, diesel closed at $749.70 per metric tonne, and LPG closed at $444.80 per metric tonne.
The net changes indicate that the price of petrol has fallen by 4.17%, diesel by 0.87%, and LPG by 3.44%.
Local Fuel Market
During the second pricing window of May 2024, the anticipated price reductions at local pumps were hindered by the stagnation in the value of the local currency.
Analyzing the performance of refined petroleum products during this period, it was noted that diesel and petrol prices remained relatively steady across most Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) monitored.
According to calculations by the Institute for Energy Security (IES), the national average prices for petrol and diesel during the second pricing window of May 2024 were GH₡14.22 and GH₡14.00 per litre respectively, while LPG was priced at GH₡15.63 per kilogramme.