Some Oil Marketing Companies(OMCs) have increased prices of petroleum products at the pumps today, Wednesday, February 1, 2023, in line with the prediction made by the Institute of Energy Security (IES).
A market leader, GOIL, is now selling a litre of petrol at GH¢15.25, from the previous GH¢13.60, translating to a 12 per cent increase in the product.
On the other hand, diesel is going for GH¢15.90 per litre, from the previous GH¢15.52.
Other OMCs are expected to follow suit by announcing new fuel prices later today.
Ahead of the announcement of increases in fuel prices, IES predicted between a 7% and 13% jump in the prices of petrol, diesel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), from February 1, 2023, for the next two weeks.
According to the IES, the rise in domestic fuel prices is due to the sharp depreciation of the cedi during the last two weeks and the rising international fuel prices, as observed on the global S&P Platts platform.
The energy think tank pointed out that the fuel price increase would be occasioned despite the government’s receipt of approximately 41,000 metric tonnes of diesel under its “Gold for Oil” programme.
However, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has appealed to transport owners to hold on with moves to push for an increase in transport fares as fuel prices increase.
The Ghana Road Transport Union (GPRTU) had earlier stated that it would demand an increase in transport fares if prices of petroleum products continue to increase at the pumps.
But reacting to the issue, the Executive Secretary of COPEC, Duncan Amoah, said the transport owners may have to wait until the end of the first quarter of the year before demanding an increase in fares.
“We think it is too early to start demanding for an upward review of fuel prices. At least we must wait and monitor the trend until March”, Mr Amoah said.