The Chamber for Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) is anticipating a rise in fuel prices for the first pricing window of July 2024.
The chamber says the increase is expected to affect the retail prices of petrol, diesel, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at pumps nationwide.
COPEC attributes the anticipated price hike to a further depreciation of the Cedi against the Dollar, with the exchange rate dropping from an average of $1:GH¢14.4788 to $1:GH¢15.2779, a decline of 1.89%.
As a result, the retail price of petrol is projected to rise by 2.17 percent from the current average pump price of GH¢14.17 per litre to GH¢15.20 per litre.
Similarly, the mean retail pump price of diesel is expected to increase to GH¢15.21 per litre. The price of LPG is also projected to rise, with prices ranging between GH¢13.24 per kg and GH¢14.64 per kg.
In its projection, COPEC urged the government to reduce taxes on LPG or subsidise its price to encourage widespread use and accessibility, which would help protect the environment by reducing reliance on firewood.
Additionally, COPEC appealed to the government to expedite efforts to bring the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) back into operation.
In the last pricing window of June 2024, the prices of petroleum products went up marginally.
This was on account of the worsening performance of the Ghana cedi, though the prices of finished products such as petrol, diesel, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) have recorded falling prices for the second time in a row.
The Institute for Energy Security(IES) daily monitoring of the domestic fuel market for the first pricing window for June 2024 observed mixed reactions from Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
LPG sold at GH₡15.96, reflecting a marginal increase of about GH₡0.30 per kilogramme (kg) in the closed window.
Petrol and diesel went for GH₡14.26 and GH₡14.08 per litre respectively.