The next pricing window, which starts on November 16, 2022, may see another hike in the cost of petroleum goods, according to the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC).
The depreciation of the Ghana cedi, together with other changes and influences on the worldwide market, will be a significant contributing cause for the upward revision of pricing, according to COPEC.
Commercial drivers and the general public are complaining about the impact on the cost of living since petrol and diesel are currently retailing for GHC 18.49 and GHC 23.49 per litre, respectively, at various pumps throughout the nation.
In an interview with Citi News, Duncan Amoah, the executive secretary of COPEC, stated that there is no end in sight to the uncontrollably growing costs of petroleum products.
He claimed that routine Chamber inspections at a few chosen pumps show a different image from the pesewas fall in petroleum prices that had some Ghanaians feeling confident about a price cut in the upcoming pricing window.
“The Cedi seem to be back on a decline spree. What the interbank rate was quoting at GH¢13.8 is currently doing GH¢15.5, GH¢15.7. If that continues, then I don’t see how the reduction will come. Again, international market prices are also looking bullish once again due to China’s most recent announcement of reopening that economy fully.”
“What that means on demand pressures is that, you are likely going to see a demand surge. If that happens with OPEC’s threat to cut production numbers, then prices per barrel are simply looking to go beyond the $100 mark once again. As we speak, it peaked around $99 last night. If you put that and the Cedi’s depreciation together, I am afraid the reduction that OPEC is clamouring for will simply not happen anytime soon. To the contrary, you may rather have the prices of individual product inch up a little higher simply because of these variations which are being recorded,” he said.
According to recently acquired statistics, Duncan Amoah predicted that the price of petrol would have increased while the price of diesel would have stabilized or decreased by GH1.
Despite insisting that the reduction was now unattainable, he did note that COPEC will keep an eye on sector developments in the coming days.
“From what we saw as of our records yesterday if you were to do new prices yesterday evening, petrol would have simply gone up by a cedi or two, diesel would have probably stabilized and in the best case scenario declined by GH¢1. As we speak, we have the whole of Thursday, Friday and the following Monday to observe to determine exactly where pricing should be in the next window which commences on the 16th day of November so as it stands it could be anything but the reduction that has been published widely I am afraid might not be the case of today,” Duncan Amoah emphasized.
Since the start of this year, the cost of petrol and diesel has been rising.
To protect Ghanaians from skyrocketing fuel prices, COPEC has repeatedly encouraged the government to cut back on sales of crude oil.
