COPEC expects fuel costs to rise again by 10%

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices are expected to rise by 10% starting on Tuesday, November 1, 2022, according to the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), while gasoline and diesel prices are anticipated to increase by between GHS 3 and GHS 8.

This, according to COPEC, is a result of changes in the price of petroleum products on a global scale.

At the moment, certain oil marketing companies are selling gasoline for GHS 17 and diesel for GHS 19.

“We are certain that one of the key things confronting the generality of Ghanaians currently has to do with fuel prices that keep increasing week in, week out. As of October 28, we were doing an average GHS 14 for petrol while diesel was averaging between GHS 17 to GHS 19 a litre,” Duncan Amoah the Executive Director of COPEC stated.

In order to provide customers of the commodity some relief, the government has said that attempts are now being conducted to “secure reliable and regular sources of affordable petroleum products.”

The government is attempting to find dependable, consistent suppliers of petroleum products at fair prices for the Ghanaian market.

When this arrangement is successful and the currency is stable, it is anticipated that the increase in gasoline costs would stop, providing relief for everyone, said President Akufo-Addo. Players in the industry have issued warnings of harder times to come as the cost of petroleum products keeps rising.

In a conversation with the media, COPEC’s executive director, Duncan Amoah, predicted a further hike to take effect on Tuesday.

“The majority of us anticipated that the presidential address would try to find some immediate remedies to the predicament we are in regarding currencies and measures to lower prices.

Unfortunately, the only information we have is that we plan to investigate finding gasoline in cheaper locations. To say that the threat of gasoline price rises is still present would be an understatement.

Expectations in the downstream market may increase again on Tuesday.

Last week the Institute for Energy Security (IES) also predicted a mid-November increase in fuel prices at the pump.

This is a result of the Cedi’s substantial depreciation against the US dollar and the noticeably rising price of gasoline on the global fuel market.

“In IES’ estimation, Gasoil’s price per litre is set to break the Gh¢20.00 mark, with a gallon price possibly going for Ghc90.00 on the market. Gasoline price may also inch close to Gh¢18 per litre by mid-November 2022,” according to a statement from the IES.

The 1.43% drop in LPG prices on the global market, according to IES, may not be reflected in lower prices at domestic gas stations since it “may counterbalance the depreciation of the Cedi and instead force the price of the commodity to climb further in the following days.”

Throughout the just closed pricing window, there were numerous modifications to the prices of various finished products on the local gasoline market.

Source: Ghanatodayonline.com/Louis Gyamerah