Fuel prices have shot up to GH¢15.99 per litre representing a 12.8 per cent increment in the latest review of petroleum prices that took off from October, 16.
At a leading Oil Marketing Company(OMC), Total Energies, for instance, the price of Diesel now stands at GH¢15.99 while petrol sells for GH¢13.10.
This is a sharp increase from the GH¢11.06 per litre for petrol and GH¢13.95 per litre for diesel earlier in the month.
The increments are occasioned by the slight increase in the price of crude oil on the world market during the period and the sharp depreciation of the Ghanaian currency, the cedi.
Similarly, the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is expected to go up by about 10%, beginning today October 17.
The Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC), Duncan Amoah stressed that the rate could hit GH¢18 a litre by December if the government does not intervene.
“We are hitting Gh¢15 per litre for diesel now. The cedi has definitely not come to a stability point and if it continues to depreciate it is likely that in the first week of November there will be a further increment. Between now and December, you’re probably going to see that Ghanaians could end up paying about GH¢17 to GH¢18 per litre for fuel.”
This was due to the increases in the price of the products on the international market, and the significant decline in the value of the local currency against the American greenback or US dollar.
“The sharp rise in prices of gasoline (petrol) and gas oil (diesel) on the global market may drive the prices of domestic gasoline and gas oil to rise higher, as against the rise in LPG [Liquefied Petroleum Gas].
He added that “I do not want us to get there and I think that authorities and those within the policy space will need to wake up from their sleep,” he said on citi news.
The price of crude oil in January this year was at about $75 a barrel but currently sells at around $86 per barrel.
The Institute for Energy Security (IES) had projected that fuel prices were expected to go up at the pumps from Sunday, October 16, 2022.
This was due to the increases in the price of the products on the international market, and the significant decline in the value of the local currency against the American greenback or US dollar.