Fuel prices to remain stable in the second pricing window of August – IES
The Institute for Energy Security(IES) forecasts that petroleum prices will stay stable on the local market through the second half of August 2024.
The IES attributes the stable fuel prices in the second pricing window in August 2024 to the slower depreciation of the cedi and recent international market trends.
In the first pricing window, petrol and diesel prices fell by 2.83% and 4.46%, respectively, while Liquified Petroleum Gas(LPG) saw a 2.66% increase.
Additionally, the Ghana cedi depreciated by 0.77% against the U.S. dollar.
Barring any regulatory or policy changes, fuel prices are expected to remain steady for the next two weeks.
On the world oil market, IES indicated that there is a growing instability in the Middle East, coupled with weaker demand from China.
This has negatively impacted oil prices.
Both Brent Crude and WTI saw further price declines during the first pricing window of August 2024.
Although the ongoing geopolitical risks in the Middle East typically provide a bullish driver for oil prices, demand concerns currently outweigh the possibility of supply disruptions.
Local Fuel Market Performance
The first pricing window of August 2024 saw the price of liquid fuels fall at the pumps, marking the first drop since May 2024.
Specifically, the price per litre of petrol and diesel decreased by an average of GH0.20, based on performance data of local Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) monitored over the period.
The IES computation of the national average price for the three refined petroleum products during the first pricing window of August 2024 showed that petrol and diesel sold at GH₡14.00 and GH₡14.58 per litre respectively, while LPG was priced at GH₡15.22 per kilogramme.