Price floors for petrol and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) have fallen for the second pricing window of August, while diesel prices have recorded a marginal increase, according to the latest figures from the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).
The price floor for petrol has dropped by GH¢0.61 per litre, or 4.2%, from GH¢14.53 in the first pricing window of August to GH¢13.92 per litre.
LPG has also recorded a slight decline, with its price floor falling by GH¢0.08 per kilogram, or about 0.7%, from GH¢11.06 to GH¢10.98 per kilogram.
Diesel, however, has moved in the opposite direction. Its price floor has increased by GH¢0.22 per litre, or 1.5%, from GH¢14.97 to GH¢15.19 per litre.
The changes could bring some relief to consumers buying petrol and LPG, although actual pump prices will depend on the margins and other charges applied by individual petroleum companies.
Price floors are the minimum thresholds below which Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and LPG Marketing Companies (LPGMCs) are expected not to sell petroleum products during a pricing window.
Under the Petroleum Product Pricing Guidelines (PPPG), the floors do not include premiums charged by International Oil Trading Companies (IOTCs), operating margins of Bulk Import, Distribution and Export Companies (BIDECs), or marketers’ and dealers’ margins.
These costs are determined separately by the companies.
The latest changes follow the government’s intervention in the previous pricing window to cushion consumers against a sharp rise in diesel prices.
The government reduced the regulatory margin on diesel by GH¢2 per litre for one month, prompting the NPA to cut the diesel price floor from GH¢16.97 to GH¢14.97 per litre in the first August window.
For motorists and businesses, the latest increase in the diesel floor could keep transport and operating costs high, particularly for commercial vehicles, generators and businesses that depend heavily on diesel.
The lower petrol floor, meanwhile, offers some relief to motorists, but the actual reduction at the pump will depend on how individual OMCs price their products.
